RWBY & Project Guardsman
by FLASHFAN123
Summary: A crossover parody of RWBY with Red vs Blue. Co-written by mrastounding. He'll post the same chapters on his deviantart account.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

At the famous huntsman academy, Beacon, the students were preparing for the upcoming Vytal Festival. One group of students in particular - Team JNPR - were training on two fronts. While Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos practiced with their weapons, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie were in their room exercising their bodies. Ren quietly did push-ups while studying his textbooks, as Nora lifted her heavy barbells. After half an hour, the two childhood friends decided to take a break. As they sat down on their beds, Nora turned to break the silence.

"Hey." She called.

"Yeah?" Ren looked up from his book to acknowledge her.

"Do you ever wonder why we're here?"

Ren closed his book and gave Nora his full attention. "It's one of life's great mysteries, isn't it?" He mused, thoughtfully. "Why _are _we here? I mean… are we just the product of some _cosmic coincidence? _Or are there really _gods of light and darkness _watching _everything? _With a _plan, _and stuff? I don't know, Nora. But it keeps me up at night."

Ren was hoping that Nora would add her own opinion to his statement, allowing the two of them to finally have an intellectual conversation. But to his dismay, she merely looked confused. "What? I mean why are we _here? _At this school that _launches _its students off cliffs and teaches them by making them fight wild animals."

"Oh… yeah." Ren felt his face warm up from embarrassment.

"What was all that stuff about _gods?"_

"Huh? Oh! Uh… _nothing."_

"... you wanna talk about it?"

"No, no."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Seriously, though, why _are _we here?" Nora decided to ignore the awkward misunderstanding and carry on. "As far as I remember, we never signed a _waiver _or anything saying that we'd be put in _life-threatening situations. _And we weren't even told about the cliff-catapult-thing."

"I know." Ren nodded in agreement. "I know we signed on to fight Grimm and protect people, but what's up with Ozpin's teaching methods? I mean, what's he going to do when we _graduate? _Set us on _fire?"_

As the two friends laughed, they failed to notice Yang Xaio Long and Weiss Schnee go past their room from the dining hall. "What're they doing?" Yang asked out of curiosity.

"What?" Weiss asked, her tone dripping with annoyance.

"I said, 'what're they doing _now?'"_

"Gods, I am _so sick _of answering that question!"

The blonde brawler held up her hands in a calming manner: "Hey, I can't help if I'm curious."

With a scoff, Weiss gave her response: "Okay, look; they're just sitting around and talking, okay? That's _all _they're doing. That's all they've _been _doing since even before we started investigating what Roman Torchwick and the White Fang were up to. It's what they were doing last week, it's what they were doing five minutes ago, and five minutes from _now_ when you ask me 'what are they doing?' again, my answer's going to be 'they're still just talking, and they're still just sitting there!'"

Despite the clear irritation in the Schnee heiress' voice, Yang couldn't help the teasing grin she gained with her follow-up question: "What are they talking about?"

Weiss just groaned in response, to which Yang chuckled: "Come on, you _know_ I'm just messing with you, and besides, if you _are _going to inherit your family's company someday, it wouldn't hurt for you to learn to ignore a little heckling every now and again."

With a sigh, Weiss nodded in reluctant agreement, before suddenly brightening. "That reminds me: I pulled some strings, and I actually have a surprise for you, Blake, and Ruby out up front."

"Oh, I _like _surprises!"

A few minutes later, in front of the school, Yang and Weiss met up with Blake Belladonna and Ruby Rose. The heiress took out her scroll to send a text message to an unknown recipient. "Klein should be coming around any time now." She smiled.

Sure enough, the Schnee's family butler drove a bizarre military vehicle up the road. Team RWBY looked in absolute awe at the fascinating car.

"Shotgun!" Ruby cried.

"Shotgun - _fuck!" _Yang stamped her foot in frustration.

"Greetings, Miss Schnee. Ms. Rose. Ms. Belladonna. Ms. Xiao Long." The kindly butler greeted. "May I present Mr. Schnee's latest donation to the huntsman and huntresses of Remnant. Complete with _four inch armor plating, mag bumper suspension, a mounted machine-gunner position _with _dust-compatibility, _and _total _seating for _four. _Ladies, this is the _M12 LRV!" _Klein's eyes suddenly changed from light brown to yellow. "I, personally, like to call it 'the Warthog.'"

"Why _'warthog,' _Mr. Sieben?" Ruby asked with her hand raised.

Klein's eyes were now red as his voice grew irritated. "Because 'M12 LRV' doesn't quite roll off the tongue in conversations."

"Yeah, but I mean, it doesn't really look like a _pig." _Blake added, siding with Ruby. "I think it looks more like a _puma."_

The red in Klein's eyes quickly faded into a minty green hue. "I say, Miss Belladonna, what exactly _is _a puma?"

"You mean like the _shoe company?" _Yang teased.

"No! I mean a _puma." _Blake corrected, irritably. "It's a _big cat. _Like a _lion."_

Meanwhile, Jaune and Pyrrha had finished their exercises and were walking back to their dorm when something caught Pyrrha's eye. "Look, Jaune. I think Team RWBY has a car."

"What? Why do _they _get a car and _we _don't?!" Jaune whined.

Pyrrha scoffed. "What are you complaining about? Dr. Oobleck is going to teach us how to operate a _tank _next week."

"Well… what kind of car is it?"

"I don't know. I've never _seen _a car like that, before." She cupped her hands over her eyes and squinted to try and enhance her view. "It almost looks like… like a _big cat _of some kind."

"... you mean like a _puma?"_

"Yeah, that's it."

Back with Team RWBY, Ruby cleared her throat to get the attention of her arguing teammates. "As much fun as I am having watching you argue over what kind of animal our new car looks like - no, seriously, I'm tempted to grab a bowl of popcorn - I promised Velvet to help with her weapon. There's a few mechanical issues that she needs my opinion on, so if there aren't any _other _surprises…"

"Salutations, Ruby."

"Hi, Penny. As I was saying, if you don't need me, I'll be... wait…" And that was as far as Ruby's thought process got before receiving a tight embrace from her friend, Penny Polendina. "Not that it isn't good to see you again, Penny, but any reason you're hugging me so tightly?"

"Yes, but you already know the reason, so I won't tell you."

Ruby couldn't resist chuckling at that, as she was technically right: she was the first friend that the robo-girl had, so even if this was a "just because" hug, it was reason enough to hug her back. However… "Uh, Penny, I think your teammate is waiting for you."

Indeed: one Ciel Soleil was patiently waiting for the two friends to part ways so that Penny could join their teammates in training for the tournament, so with a smile, the android released her friend from their embrace. "I promise to talk to you some more later." She said.

"Okay. Bye, best friend!"

"Did you hear that?!" Penny squealed as she ran up to the young Frenchwoman in blue. "I've been upgraded to _best friend _status!"

"How _wonderful." _Ciel rolled her eyes. As far as Team CPPR went, Ciel was the least sociable. Thankfully, their other teammates - Jean Purple and Rachael Red - were already waiting for them. As was their teacher, Mr. Tukson.

"Well, hello, girls!" The jolly faunus clapped at the sight of his students. "I am _such _a sucker for punctuality!"

"I tried to make sure they were all here on time, Mr. Tukson." Ciel saluted.

"Ciel… how many times do I have to tell you? Just call me _Tukson!" _He laughed. "I don't want you to think of me as someone _above _you."

"As you wish."

"So, are you girls ready to get back to our exercises?"

"I am _more _than ready, sir!" Penny eagerly clapped. "I'm _combat _ready!"

"Oh, ho, ho, Penny! You are a _treat!" _Tukson placed his hands on his hips and shook his head in delight. "You _all _are! Your boundless energy and enthusiasm puts a _spring _in my step, and a _smile _on my face! I am _so proud _of how far you've all come, and I can't wait for you to show how capable you are at the tournament! In fact, if I wasn't your teacher, I'd just pick you all up in a great big bear-hug and make you call me 'daddy!'"

Despite the well-meant sentiment of his words, Team CPPR felt a bit unsettled by his phrasing. "Uh… thank gods for the chain of command?" Rachael shrugged.

While Team CPPR was debating the need for an(other) adult, Velvet seemed to be trying to dig a hole in the ground with her feet, to which Coco took notice. "Velvet, sweetie, I _know _that Ruby's taking a while to show up, but I sincerely doubt that it warrants so much pacing...and for the record, I _still _don't understand why you insist and upgrading your weapon again."

As it turned out, this was both the right _and _the wrong thing to say to get the Rabbit Faunus to stop pacing, as evidenced when she leveled a glare at the fashionista. "_Right_, because the way our missions have been going, the only thing I'll be allowed to contribute is hosting the victory party... scratch that: I'll only be in charge of _confetti!"_

Needless to say, Coco had to hold back a wince at this: truth be told, she _had _been a little reluctant to let the girl contribute in their battles, though in her defence, given the nature of her teammate's semblance and weapon, it _did _make a sort of sense to want to make sure that they try and keep a full arsenal. That said, it seemed that in this case, there _was _such a thing as being _too _conservative. "Alright, maybe I _have _been going a little overboard with trying to keep you and your weapon in reserve. Tell you what: why don't I help you and Little Red Fighting Hood make you a secondary weapon so you don't have to rely on those snapshots all the time? It'd actually be nice to have you on the front lines in our missions more often."

"You...you really mean that?"

"Of course I do. Just because I can be a bit strict at times doesn't mean I'm completely heartless. Besides, despite what you might think, I really _do _appreciate all you do, and not just on the battlefield: you're smart, kind, brave, and _totally _know how to rock those jeans of yours. I guess what I'm _trying _to say is that I'm so…" ...and that was as far as Coco got before she found Velvet slamming her lips onto hers.

"WHOA! Okay, I can come back later, if you need some privacy," said a newly arrived Ruby from the doorway, a blush shining brightly on her face. While she had nothing against their relationship (given the hints she'd gotten that Blake and her sister had a thing for each other, among other factors, it'd be a bit hypocritical if she did), she wasn't sure how she felt about the two of them making out in front of her.

Needless to say, Velvet quickly separated from her teammate upon hearing her fellow weaponsmith's outburst. "No, no, it's fine. We can get started now, if you'd like... though I _am _curious to know how long you were standing there."

Ruby just smirked. "Long enough to know that we've got _two _weapons to work on today...three if you feel up to helping me make some adjustments to Crescent Rose. Come on: let's show Cold Strawberry the forge, see if we can convince her to let us look at Gianduja while we're there."

Despite feeling pleased at the latest development, Coco couldn't help the groan that escaped her: "Accidentally forget to cook a strawberry rhubarb pie _one time_, and you just can't let it go, can you?"

"Given that said pie was meant to be a gift to my team, can you really blame me?"

"Touche."

Back in JNPR's room, Nora and Ren continued their conversation while going back to their exercises. "Talk about _hostile endangerment." _Ren said as he performed sit-ups. "I mean, does this school offer any _alternative choices _for careers? Like, what if a _medical student _got flung off that cliff?"

Nora giggled as she lifted the heavy barbell over her shoulders. "Then their first lesson would be how to treat _broken legs. _That is, if they hadn't met _me _before."

"Hey, guys!" Pyrrha poked her head inside the dorm with a bright smile. "Dr. Oobleck wants to talk to us!"

"Crap…" Ren sighed as he and Nora followed their teammate down the hall.

**To Be Continued**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Soon enough, Team JNPR met the eccentric Doctor Oobleck just outside the school grounds. Behind him was a massive piece of military technology; a large, and imposing tank. "Greetings, students!" Oobleck shouted before downing a quart of coffee in one gulp. "Now, what you see here is a standard M808V Main Battle Tank! Capable of firing shells of 155mm, and functioning on all terrains! However, I believe its most notable feature is its _'SMART' _features! In which, a simple A.I. acts as a sort of training program to better explain the more meticulous functions and capabilities installed within the vehicle! Although you are not scheduled to learn how to operate such a vehicle until next week, I believe we can utilize the time we have before them to study _maintenance _and _technical operations!"_

"Very impressive, Dr. Oobleck!" Pyrrha clapped.

"A.I.?" Nora scratched her head. "What's the 'A' stand for?"

"Artificial." Ren replied.

"Oh… what's the-"

"_Intelligence."_

"Ooooh!"

"You know what, Pyrrha?" Jaune's eyes sparkled. "You were right. This is _way _better than a car. I could blow up the _whole damn world _with this thing."

Meanwhile, Ruby Rose was currently in Team CFVY's room, helping Velvet improve her weapon while Coco studied for final exams. Although, what confused the shorter of the two girls was that it looked more like a camera than a weapon. But if there was one thing her uncle Qrow had taught her, it was that _anything _could become a gun. Suddenly, Yatsuhashi and Fox entered the room.

"Hey, that's not _exactly _what happened." Yatsuhashi said.

"Yes, it _is." _Fox replied, bitterly. "You said, _'I'm not going to Junior's Club.' _And the next thing I know, Port is asking me why you hailed a taxi for Vale-!"

"Ahem." Velvet coughed into her hand. "Ruby, I could use a _break. _Do you think you could wait here for a few minutes?"

"No problem!" Ruby beamed. "I'm almost done with my part, anyway!"

"Good. Yats, come with me…" Velvet practically dragged Yatsuhashi out of the room and away from his argument with Fox.

"Thanks again for helping Velvet, Rubes." Coco closed her textbook and spun around in her seat to face their guest. "It really means a lot to her."

"I don't mind." Ruby replied. "I want _all _of my friends to be at their best when the Vytal Festival comes around!" It was then that Ruby remembered that she had left Crescent Rose back in her own room and headed for the door to retrieve it. "In fact, I was thinking after the tournament, we could - AAAAAAH!" Ruby's eyes widened in disbelief at the horrible sight before her. Yatsuhashi held a familiar rabbit faunus in his arms as she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. The two teammates were in the middle of a passionate make-out session, seemingly oblivious to the three spectators. "Velvet! How could you?!" Ruby cried. "You're cheating on Coco!"

The fashionista chuckled and ruffled her friend's hair. "Nah, it's fine, Rubes. We've been like this for a _while _now."

"What?!"

"It's true!" Velvet finally broke the kiss to acknowledge her fellow weapons enthusiast. "Sometimes Yats kisses _Coco, _sometimes Coco kisses _me! _We're all kind of just… a _thing, _ya know?"

"What?!"

"Sometimes we all go at it at the _same time!" _Yatsuhashi smiled.

Ruby felt as if her brain was malfunctioning. She turned to the only remaining member of Team CFVY with anxious terror plastered over her face. "Fox! Please tell me _you're _not involved in this!"

"Nah, they do _their _thing, I do _mine." _The blind student shrugged. "The whole _'romance' _thing honestly seems too _hectic _for my tastes."

Ruby just sighed. "Fair enough. Anyways, I'd better get back to my team; if I recall correctly, they have an announcement tomorrow and I want to be well rested for when it happens...though I _am _going to ask Weiss and Blake about getting me some brain bleach."

Yatsuhashi raised an eyebrow at that. "You do know that my semblance literally involves wiping people's memories, right?"

Ruby snorted at this even as she leaves the room. "Yeah, thanks but no thanks. Even if the memory wipe _wasn't_ temporary, knowing you guys, you'd spring the revelation on me right after making me forget _just_ to see me freak out about it again."

Coco just sighed even as her fellow leader left the room. "Welp, there goes _that_ pranking opportunity: no point in trying if she already has an idea of what's coming."

"Still, it _was _fun to watch her squirm." Velvet giggled.

"Not as fun as it is to watch _you _squirm." Yatsuhashi teased as he continued to pepper the faunus' neck with kisses.

"Oy vey." Fox rolled his pale eyes at the show of affection.

The next day, Team RWBY groggily got out of bed to begin classes. Their first teacher of the day, much to their frustration, was Dr. Oobleck. It wasn't so much that they minded his eccentric behavior, but it was often difficult to write notes on his lectures when they were unable to keep up with his pace. Nevertheless, they decided it was best to go ahead and get it over with.

However, once they arrived at the classroom, Dr. Oobleck was seen standing next to the school's esteemed headmaster and his second-in-command. "Good morning, students." Ozpin greeted. "Before we begin classes for today, I have an important announcement to make. With the increasing risk of huntsmen and huntresses missing in action, the collective huntsman community has issued a new bill. Every huntsman and huntress are to be given a special global-positioning chip to be implanted into their necks. This will allow any lost huntsmen and huntresses in Remnant to be located in dire situations. Waivers shall be handed out at the end of class, further explaining the process. Once you have filled out the forms, Ms. Goodwitch will escort you to the school nurse to receive the implant."

"And if you can't find me, don't worry." Goodwitch slapped her riding crop against Oobleck's desk, creating a painful echo throughout the room. "I'll find _you." _The students shuddered at her words. It wasn't a threat: it was a promise.

That wasn't to say that everyone was pleased with this new development. Case in point, Blake looked like she was going to blow a gasket. "...and exactly _how_ is this any different than what Atlas was doing with their labor camp workers, particularly the Faunus, back during the Great War?" She asked.

Ozpin nodded. "An excellent question, and one I made sure to bring up to the council when the bill was brought to our attention. First and foremost, unlike in those labor camps, the staff are being marked as well." To prove his point, he lowered the back of his shirt collar to reveal a scar, no doubt where he himself had had his chip placed.

Glynda gave the "secret" faunus a look of understanding and compassion. "Secondly, the War taught us too well how easily a system like this could potentially be abused, so we made sure to install an automated distress call feature into the chip: it privately monitors an individual's vitals and let's us know if there's any sort of distress with an implantee not normally associated with any registered mission that they may or may not be on. When it goes off, a back-up team will be sent right away to provide assistance, evaluate physical and mental health, and - if necessary - deliver the appropriate punishments to those who think it okay to repeat the sins of the past."

Yang just placed a comforting hand on her partner's shoulder, earning her a nod of appreciation, before giving the vice-headmistress a nod of respect and approval. "Nice to see that, in the future, we won't be letting anyone get away with, say, trying to pull a rabbit faunus' ears off, right _Cardin?" _She stated, giving the aforementioned bully a glare that was soon shared by her teammates, as well as Velvet and _her_ teammates.

Professor Port just gave the leader of Team CRDL, currently sweating bullets, a look of disappointment before shaking his head: "I'll deal with _you_ later."

Eventually, Ozpin and Goodwitch left and classes ran as usual. Unfortunately Blake was still upset. As the final bell rang, she studied her waiver word-for-word, trying to find a loophole to get her out of receiving the implant. But ultimately, she found nothing. "This is _asinine!" _She hissed. "I won't do it!"

"Uh, Blake? Maybe you should keep an open mind." Ruby suggested, sheepishly. "You saw _Ozpin. _He got the implant, and he seems _fine."_

"That's not the _point, _Ruby." Blake pressed on as the group entered their dorm room. "He _chose _to do that, and that's _fine. _But if _I _want to be a huntress, I have to endure the same atrocious prejudices of the past! I mean, what kind of _idiot _becomes a huntress or huntsman without getting _lost _from time to time?"

Ruby slammed her fist against the wall, startling her teammates. "I said keep an open mind!" Her eyes welled with tears. "As your leader, I can't _force _you to get the chip! But as your _friend _who would be _very sad _if anything happened to you, and you went missing, and left behind two kids who would miss you if you meant missing and never came back, _I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT!"_

With that, Ruby abandoned her team, slamming the door behind her. Yang instantly bolted to chase after her, but she had already used her semblance to speed away. The blonde brawler's eyes flared red as she glared at her partner before continuing the chase. "What is _wrong _with you!?"

Blake and Weiss were now left alone, both startled by what had just transpired. "Was it something I _said?" _Blake rubbed the back of her neck as Weiss shrugged.

Ruby was just slowing down as she reached into her pocket for her scroll. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she dialed up the only person she felt like talking to at the moment. "Penny? It's me, Ruby. Can you meet me at Beacon?"

Meanwhile Yang, who had lost track of her sister, came back to her two teammates with angry tears in her eyes, all but glaring at her partner. "Well, you got what you wanted: my _'idiot'_ of a sister is gone now...and after we had _such_ a good time at the dance too."

Blake actually paled at this, especially so as she remembered an important detail that Yang had shared with her: their mother never came back from her last mission. "That's not...I didn't mean…"

Weiss held up her hands in a calming manner. "Whoa, easy there. I'm sure if we all calmed down and looked for her, she'll show up."

Somehow, this just made Yang even angrier. "_Really_, now? I wasn't going to say anything, given you were Ruby's partner and how you'd actually turned out to be pretty cool, but I can't stay silent anymore. How can I? How can I trust you to actually care about my family when I'm staring at a member of the same family who took my second mother away from me?!"

Weiss stumbled back in shock. "Wha...what!?"

With an angry sigh, Yang gave a nod. "Blake already knows that I nearly got myself and my sister killed looking for my biological mom...we're still going to talk about how she could be so callous about that after our little heart to heart, btw...but that was only one part of my conga line of trauma. The other part was how I had stumbled upon where Summer Rose - _Ruby's_ biological mother - was likely killed or kidnapped." Shaking her head, she continued even as she started rummaging through her things, "I don't know the full story, and I never told Ruby about any of this...but how could I? How do I go about telling my baby sister that a couple years back, while looking for some clues about the whereabouts of one Raven Brawnwen, I stumbled upon the charred remains of an old abandoned compound, an _SDC_ compound, where I discovered _this?!"_

Weiss felt like her heart stopped for a moment: there, in Yang's hands, was a beaten-up locket containing a photo of her two teammates when they were both toddlers. Normally, she'd be cooing at how cute Ruby, and by extension Yang, had been at the time, but given the situation...she grabbed Yang by the shoulders and starred the blonde brawler in the eyes. "Yang, I need you to listen to me _very_ carefully: are you _sure_ that the abandoned compound belonged to my father?"

Yang blinked at this. "Wait, what? I mean, I found plenty of old containers with your family's symbol on it, but I never said that…"

Weiss gave an uncharacteristic growl at this. "You didn't have to: only Jacques Schnee, the man who _forced_ his way into my grandfather's business and family line, would pull something like _this_." She gave a nod. "Next time I see him, I'm going to have a _little_ conversation with him regarding a certain abandoned compound that won't be too pleasant for him: he's gone too far this time."

Blake nods. "...and I'll help, and not just because of the pain he's caused the Faunus. I messed up earlier; I was _so_ focused on the past mistreatment of my people that I forgot that there were _humans_ in the Atlas labor camps as well - that _my_ great-grandfather, according to his journals, had met his future best man, and inspiration to start an organization that was originally geared towards bringing humans and faunus together, in said camps. That if not for those camps, the White Fang and myself might not have ever been born." She sighed. "Maybe if I got that chip, it'll show how sorry I..." ...and that was as far as she got before _both_ of her teammates enveloped her in a hug.

Yang just sniffled. "So _that's_ why. How can I stay mad at you when _this_ was your reason for losing your temper? _I've_ certainly lost _mine_ for less…"

Blake shook her head in frustration and remorse. "That doesn't make what I did right."

Weiss just sighed: "No, it doesn't, but like Yang said, it's clear you weren't _trying_ to upset anyone. Besides, like Ruby said, we won't _force_ you to do something that makes you uncomfortable. You want to make things right with our teammate? Help us find her so that you can apologize to her and explain your reasons to her in person. We can worry about this business with the chips _after_ we've made sure she's safe."

Blake just gave a resolute nod: "Alright, let's go."

Before they left, however, Weiss had one more question; "So, wait, Yang, just to clarify one thing, Ruby's mother isn't really _your_ mother? She had just married your father after his first love left him with you?"

Yang gave a shrug. "In short, yes. My real mom left right after I was born, so the only real mother-figure I had was Summer Rose."

Blake then blinked. "So, Rose isn't _your_ last name?"

"No, but I thought you knew that."

Blake blushed. "Sorry: what _is_ your last name?"

"Xiao Long."

Blake nodded. "Okay, so now - wait: 'Xiao Long?'"

"Yeah?"

"Are... are you Chinese?"

"Who, me?"

"Yeah."

"Does it matter?"

Blake held her hands in a calming manner. "No, I'm just curious."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Well, if it doesn't matter, why are you curious?"

"Because I feel like that's something I should've picked up on."

Yang just gave a deadpan expression. "Y'know what _else_ you should've picked up on? MY FUCKING LAST NAME!"

While Blake kicked herself for starting another exhausting argument, Ruby had met Penny in Vale. The huntresses in training walked down the cobblestone streets, headed towards Team CPPR's temporary home - the apartment above Tukson's Book Trade. By the time the sun started setting, Ruby had begun to calm down. She had been reading about Faunus history ever since Blake accidentally outed herself, so she could understand where her teammate was coming from. After spending some time with her best friend, she would apologize to Blake about blowing up the way she did.

"I am _so _excited that you wanted to spend time with me, Ruby!" Penny bounced with each step she took. "I am so excited for you to meet the rest of my team! And they'll be _overjoyed _to meet _you!" _A hiccup slipped through the android's lips; she had forgotten about Ciel. "... well, _most _of them will be."

"Well, in any case; thanks for letting me hang out with you, Penny." Ruby managed to smile. "I just needed to get away for a little while. And I guess it's about time I meet a few friends of yours that _aren't _fireflies."

The duo shared a laugh as they drew closer to the bookstore. But as they turned a corner, they were blinded by flashes of red and blue. Two police cars were parked outside the bookstore, blocking off the street. Much to Penny's dismay, she saw Ciel and Racheal speaking to two officers. Luckily, Jean spotted the two of them and rushed to embrace her teammate.

"Oh, Penny! Thank _gods _you're safe!" She exclaimed.

"Jean, what happened? Where's Mr. Tukson?"

"Oh, Penny, it's _awful!" _Jean took out a magenta handkerchief to dab her eyes. "The three of us went out for lattes to celebrate, but when we came back, you weren't here and Mr. Tukson was _dead! _They think he was _shot!"_

"He was _what?!"_ came the shout of one Blake Belladonna. The cat Faunus showed up alongside Yang and Weiss - having correctly deduced that their teammate would be hanging out with Penny - all of whom were shocked by this new development. Though none more so than the ex-White Fang member, who looked like someone had punched her in the gut.

"Wait, what are _you_ doing here?" Ruby stated in slight shock, both at the troubling news and at his new development.

"I was hoping to apologize for earlier," Blake explained, before looking towards the bookstore with a look of anger: "But that'll have to wait: we need to find out who would kill my uncle in cold blood like this."

"Your _uncle?!_" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

Blake shrugged, sadly. "Well, okay: he technically was only an _honorary_ one, but given how close he was to my parents back during my time in the White Fang, it wasn't hard for me to start seeing him as such. He actually left a few years before Sienna Khan took control of the organization, stating that he was called away by an old friend to take part in some sort of secret project in Atlas before coming here for a change of pace."

"Is that _so?" _Ciel lifted an eyebrow, curiously. "Perhaps you could tell us who would… how to put this? _Hate _Mr. Tukson? Enough to kill him?"

"Hey, back off, clock-girl!" Yang growled. "You heard her: this is as hard for _her _as it is for _you-"_

"It's alright, Yang." Blake soothed her partner before turning back to Team CPPR. "As for your question, Tukson was one of the White Fang's best enforcers. He had _plenty _of enemies. Too many for me to _count."_

"Merde. (Shit.)" Ciel muttered. "Pourquoi ne puis-je pas compter sur quelqu'un d'autre que moi? (Why can't I count on anyone other than myself?)"

Weiss leaned over to Ruby's ear. "What did she say?" She whispered.

"I don't know. I don't speak Spanish." Ruby shrugged.

"Don't mind her." Penny replied. "Ciel tends to speak in her native language when she's overly stressed."

"Well, she won't have to be stressed for very long." Racheal announced. "Those policemen just got off the phone with their superiors. Apparently, a Guardsman is coming to deal with this."

"Really? It's _that _serious?" Weiss sounded perturbed.

"What's a Guardsman?" Ruby asked.

"Guardsmen are _independant." _Weiss explained. "They're not affiliated with any _conventional _Huntsman organizations. They just travel all over Remnant and work for whoever has the most money."

Yang just sighed. "Well, here's hoping that this 'Guardsman' doesn't cause too much of a ruckus. Not sure how many more surprises I can take."

"Guess I could always come back later then."

Yang and Ruby shared a shocked expression, instantly recognizing that voice, despite how long it'd been sense they'd last heard it. "It...it can't be," Yang said with a whisper.

"Mom?" Ruby asked with a shake in her voice earning some shocked expressions from her teammates even as she and her sister turned towards the newcomer.

"I assure you: the rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated," Guardsman Summer Rose said with a chuckle. "I've always wanted to say that."

**To be continued**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Mom…?" Ruby Rose could hardly believe her eyes. Standing before her was Summer Rose; one of the most famous and skilled huntresses in all of Remnant. Her own mother thought to be dead.

"Hello, Ruby. Yang."

"Salutations!" Penny immediately jumped forward to shake the woman's hand. "A family member of Ruby's is a _friend _of mine! I am Penny Polendina! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Penny," Summer said with a grin.

"Hold it!" Yang shouted, having come out of her state of shock. "How do we know you're _really_ Summer Rose? This could just as easily be a trap by the same guys who messed up that Schnee Dust Company warehouse but forgot that she had left _this_ behind in the wreckage!" the blonde brawler growled as she held up the locket from earlier.

"What, what?!" Ruby asked, having already guessed that her sister might have run across this while looking for her biological mother but feeling betrayed about not being informed about this before now.

Yang just shrugged, not taking her eyes off the woman in front of her: "Didn't know how to bring the subject up until now, Rubes. You can yell at me later, but for now…" ...and with that, Yang placed the locket back into her pocket before getting into a fighting stance. "Either give me a reason to trust you, or find out the hard way that I'm more than meets the eye."

Despite the obvious threat, Summer, having already realized that Yang had discovered her true bloodlines since her disappearance, allowed herself a proud smile: "No need. I've _always_ known that, Yang. It's part of why it was so easy for me to see you as my own child. That said, while I'm more than willing to spar with you later, if you're up for it, I think it'd be a good idea to try and avoid doing any permanent damage to my person. That _would_ make it difficult for me to bake you and my Little Rose a batch of my famous chocolate chip and gingerbread cookies, now wouldn't it...Fire Lily?"

Upon hearing those last two words, Yang blinked in shock before lowering her fists, tears of joy in her eyes. "Heh... it's been a _long_ time since I've heard _that_ nickname...Mom." And that was all the warning Summer got before she received a glomp tackle courtesy of Yang Xiao Long, followed soon afterwards by Ruby Rose...though that wasn't to say that she'd left herself completely vulnerable and/or ignorant to her surroundings. Case in point, she couldn't help but notice the black bird perched on a nearby building that seemed to bow its head in shame almost in response to what it was seeing.

She shook her head in spite of it; she could deal with _that_ issue later. "I know that I owe you two an explanation, but for now, how about introducing me to your…?" However, she cut herself off as she spotted one of the gathered girls in particular. "Weiss?"

The heiress in question could only blink. "Do...do I know you?"

Summer couldn't help but snort in amusement. "I should hope so. Klein and I _did_ like to compete over who could spoil you and your siblings the most."

"Wait, the family in Atlas you used to babysit for was the SCHNEE family?!" Yang yelled out.

Summer could only sigh. "To my pleasure and frustration, yes: if they didn't already _have_ a mother, I would've taken them as far away as I could from that horrid father of theirs. In hindsight, Willow really _was_ the perfect bait for that trap he sprung for me so many years ago. How _is_ she doing, by the way?"

"I...I don't want to talk about it," Weiss couldn't help but choke out, overcome with emotions for various reasons; memories she had tried so hard to keep at bay hitting her all at once. Summer just nodded, scooping the girl into her arms: it said a lot about the emotional state of the infamous "Ice Queen" that she gave no resistance and in fact melted into the woman's arms.

As all this was going on, Blake and Penny just watched quietly, respecting their privacy. But a curious noise caught their attention. "Are you..._crying,_ Ciel?" Penny couldn't help but ask.

"N...NO! I had something in my eye!"

Jean cleared her throat. "Not to interrupt the admittedly heartwarming moment, but according to your daughter, you were captured by Jacques Schnee a few years ago. If that's true, not only would we need to ask a few questions to the man, but it raises _quite_ the conundrum with _you_ as well. If you _were,_ in fact, held captive, how did you manage to escape?"

Summer just gave a stern expression: "By the skin of my teeth: one of the guards came in late for his shift so the control chip they had implanted me with ran out of juice sooner than anticipated."

"_Control_ chip?!" Blake practically shouted.

The Guardsman simply nodded: "It just so happened that he had managed to get his hands on a handful of them somehow. As a Faunus, I'm sure your people are _intimately_ familiar with how they were placed upon the most rebellious of prisoners in the labor camps… and how each moment of implantation is a waking nightmare: you're perfectly aware of your surroundings, but are incapable of defying any orders given to you. For instance, I myself had been ordered to stay on site and refrain from contacting any friends or family. That said, while he had taken away my freedom, he didn't take away my free will, not completely anyways: the moment I realized that I had a chance, I capitalized on it and made my escape." She gave Yang a proud nod. "I believe _she_ can tell you what remained of the place by the time I was gone."

Yang frowned. "If that's true, why didn't you come home? Do you _know_ how much Ruby needed you? How much Dad needed you? ...how much _I_ needed you?" She gave an uncharacteristic whimper with this last question, not quite noticing how the bird from earlier seemed to shed a tear upon hearing this.

Summer, however, _did_ notice but chose not to comment on it. Instead, she got down on her knees and took her daughter's head into hands and looked into her eyes. "Oh, sweetie, of _course_ I wanted to come home, but after years of captivity and torture, I needed to get my bearings. Rediscover who I was. So when I was offered a chance to become a Guardsman, how could I say no?" She kissed Yang on the forehead, before bringing Ruby over to her and doing the same to her. "Don't fret, though; no matter what happened, I _never_ forgot about my daughters, nor how much I love you."

Rachael couldn't help but give a sniffle as she wiped a tear from her eye, before gaining a glare. "Okay, who's cutting onions around here?" Needless to say, everyone - even Ciel - let out a chuckle at that remark.

Meanwhile, back at Beacon, a certain "student" patiently waited for her minions to return. Cinder Fall - one of Salem's spies - had ordered Emerald and Mercury to dispose of a White Fang defector to prove their worth to her. She had spent the last half hour brushing her hair when the door creaked open and the deadly duo entered the room to greet her. "So, how'd it go?" She asked, setting the brush and vanity mirror aside. "Did you _declaw _the bad kitty?"

"See, I _told _you he was a _puma!" _Mercury gloated, much to his partner's annoyance.

"Yes, Cinder." Emerald nodded. "Tukson is dead…"

"... you don't sound too _happy?" _Cinder arched an eyebrow; noticing both of their nervous expressions. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Well, uh…" Emerald looked down at her feet as Mercury whistled to himself. "That team he was teaching… they called a Guardsman."

Cinder's eyes literally flared with rage. "WHAT?!" She shot out of her seat, furiously. "You _idiots! _You left those _brats _alive?! And worse yet, you let them call a _Guardsman?!"_

"Th-they weren't _there _at the time!" Mercury desperately tried to defend himself. "By the time we left, someone else had already heard the shot and called the cops! We had to get out of there!"

"How can we fix this?" Emerald shivered. "W-what do you want us to do?"

With a heavy sigh, the newest Fall Maiden slumped back into her seat. "Leave." She muttered. But as she looked back at the younger assassins, they only stared back at her in confusion. "The _room! _Get _out!" _She growled. "I need to _think."_

Without another word, the two villains left their master alone, closing the door behind them. Cinder threaded her fingers together, closed her eyes, and concentrated on a deep part of her mind. "Priscilla? Are you there?" She asked the voice only she could hear. To an outsider, it would have sounded as if the woman was growling at a frightened animal she intended to make her prey. But in reality, she was contacting her own secret weapon. At this time, she'd prefer not to reveal all her tricks right away, even to her closest allies - trust but verify, after all.

At last, a figure resembling a young woman engulfed in flames appeared in Cinder's subconscious mind. "You're right…" The woman's voice echoed around her mind. "This _could _be a has been difficult enough trying to hide my presence from _Ozpin, _but if a _Guardsman_ discovered us…"

"So? What do we do?" Cinder replied. "We can't _abandon _our mission! You said it yourself: the other half of the Fall Maiden is _here!"_

"Indeed." Priscilla continued, evenly. "A few alterations to the plan might be in order."

"So what now?"

"_You're _the new Fall Maiden. _You _figure it out. That's why I took a liking to you; I was _enamoured _by your drive for _power. _And your willingness to do what needs to be done to _obtain _it."

"Yes, it's _good _to have ambition, isn't it?" Cinder nodded with a grin. "Still, this situation is getting out of hand. How do you suggest we-?"

"Listen to me…" Priscilla interrupted one last time. "If you can just wait and keep the Guardsman off your trail until after the Vytal Festival, you will have the power of _two _Maidens at your fingertips. The Fall Maiden _and _the Summer Maiden."

Cinder's mouth went dry. "Wait, what?! Another Maiden? The _Summer _Maiden? _Here, _in Vale? But how is that-?" Cinder paused as she saw Priscilla's deadpan expression. "No, no. You're right: that doesn't _matter."_

The sinister young woman rubbed her chin, mischievously. "This _is _a golden opportunity. One that might grant me the power to rival even _her! _But still, the Guardsmen _are_ exceptionally powerful_." _She reasoned. "How am I supposed to-?"

"Use your _imagination." _Priscilla concluded, and vanished back into the dark corners of Cinder's mind.

Cinder conjured a blade of dust from her palm and threw it directly at the photograph of the little red troublemaker. The new Fall Maiden chortled to herself. "... 'use my imagination,' eh? I can work with _that. _It's always so _nice _talking with you, Priscilla." She pulled out her scroll before accessing the backdoor she had inserted into the school's computer systems not so long ago. "...and don't worry; I know _exactly_ what to do."

Meanwhile, Summer was still explaining to Team RWBY how she escaped. "One of the guards had taken _pity _on me." She said. "His name was 'Jimmy,' I think. Once I freed myself from the control chip's influence, he guided me to the hangar where I was able to hijack one of the airships. Unfortunately, Jacques had spies _everywhere. _One of his hired thugs grabbed poor Jimmy, ripped out his skull, and beat him to _death _with it."

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake shared a look of pure horror, but Yang seemed a bit more skeptical. "Hang on… how do you _beat _someone to death with their own _skull?" _She asked, scratching her head. "That doesn't sound physically possible."

"That's _exactly _what Jimmy kept screaming!"

"Have you… have you talked to _Dad, _yet?" Ruby asked; finally mustering up enough courage. "I think out of all of us, he took it the _hardest."_

"I was actually thinking about that." Summer smiled as she brushed her daughter's hair. "I was thinking I could go back to Patch this _weekend. _That way, he and I could both come to see you all fight in the tournament next week."

Ruby had to wipe the tears from her eyes once again. For years she had dreamed of seeing both of her parents cheering her on as she progressed in her dream to become a huntress. "That sounds like fun, mom." She replied. With one last tearful embrace, Ruby and Yang watched their mother depart to continue her investigation.

"And in the _meantime…" _Weiss interrupted. "You and Yang can help me test more equipment my family's company has developed. Yang? Would you like to be the first person to test the teleporter?"

Yang paled slightly. "Are you _kidding? _I'm not going through that thing!"

"Why _not?" _Weiss placed her hands on her hips in annoyance. "We tested it before, and it worked just _fine!"_

"We threw _rocks _through it!" Yang countered. "And when they came out the other end, they were all _hot _and covered in _yellow stuff!"_

"So that's it? You're afraid of _yellow stuff?"_

"Yeah. I _am _afraid of yellow stuff."

"Oh, don't be such a _baby." _Weiss rolled her eyes. "Look; they'll only be a few yards apart. That shouldn't be too difficult for a living thing to travel through it. _And _I'll pay you fifty lien."

"No!"

"One hundred?"

"... fine." Yang crossed her arms. "But for the record; rocks _aren't _people."

"I'll keep that in mind." The heiress retorted. "Come on, let's set it up."

A few hours later, Team RWBY had assembled the teleporters in Beacon's garden. Weiss used her scroll to link the mainframes and make the necessary calibrations for a person of Yang's height and weight. At last, she decided it was ready. With the press of a button, both platforms generated a circle of blue energy. "Alright, Yang. Let's make history!"

The blonde brawler patted her cheeks and took a few deep breaths to prepare herself. "Okay… I can do this. Yang Xiao Long has _got _this!" She stepped in front of the first teleporter and got into running position, hoping to make it quick. "One… two…" She ran through the first gateway and disappeared without a trace. The others turned their attention to the opposite teleporter platform, but after a few moments…

"Uh… why isn't she coming through the other end?" Ruby turned to Weiss, anxiously. "Where is my sister?!"

"Hang on! Calm down!" Weiss frantically fiddled with her scroll in a desperate attempt to find the problem. "I'm sure it's fine!"

"Can you fix it?!" Blake was equally worried. "Fix it!"

"What's going on?" Fox Alistair had heard the commotion and wanted to see if he could help resolve the problem.

"Oh, good! A smart third-year student to help us!" Ruby ran over to the upperclassman. "Fox, you're good with machine's, right?! Can you help us fix the teleporter?!"

"Uh, you're gonna want to talk to _Velvet." _Fox shrugged. "Also, Team CFVY is _second-_year. I guess I could _call _Velvet for you if you-"

"THREE!" Yang had suddenly appeared out of the other end of the teleporter, startling everyone around her.

"Yang, you're okay!" Ruby immediately hugged her sister in relief before pulling away out of disgust. A strange, viscous material had coated Yang from head to toe. "EW! What's all that _yellow stuff?"_

"Aw, _man! _It's in my _hair!" _Yang groaned. "Weiss, I'm gonna _kill _you-! Hey, when'd the third-year get here?"

"Will you _stop _calling me a third-year?!" Fox snapped. "I'm still just a _second-year!"_

"Team CFVY is still a _second-year _team?" Yang's eyes suddenly widened in shock. "Oh. My. Gods. The teleporter sent me back in time!"

Ruby rolled her eyes at this, but got distracted from her sister's "message from the future" upon noticing someone leaving one of the nearby buildings. "Hey, was Team CMSN supposed to be back yet?"

Blake blinked. "No, why?"

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "I'll be right back. It's probably nothing - likely _is_ nothing - but I just want to make _sure_ it's nothing." With that, she took off in the direction where she thought she had spotted Emerald Sustrai not too long ago.

Unbeknownst to the red hooded huntress-in-training, however, someone had spotted her while following her, and took out his scroll in response. "Remember how you asked me to keep an eye on those girls you mentioned?" One Adam Taurus inquired of his uneasy ally. "One of them seems to have caught on to your little deception and is following your little lackey as we speak. Seems to me that in accelerating your plans, you only slowed down in delivering your end of our little bargain."

Cinder growled on the other side of the scroll. "I'll send someone to deal with her. And as for our bargain, I'm giving you permission to deal with the rest of them as you see fit… but keep the one in the red cloak alive; I want to deal with her _personally."_

Adam just snorted. "Easy enough… especially given it's _her_ that's following your little illusionist."

Cinder could be heard chuckling. _"Really_ now? This just keeps getting better and better. In that case, deal with her little teammates as you see fit once the signal has been given. You'll know when that time comes."

Adam nodded. "Indeed." He shut off his scroll before turning towards where Blake was standing, then snarled as he leveled a glare at Weiss and Yang, with extra emphasis on the latter. "You took something precious from me; only fitting I help return the favor."

Meanwhile, Ruby was starting to get worried: today was the day a few of her friends were going to be doing a series of one-on-one practice rounds with each other and the few classmates she had come across didn't even realize that Cinder's teammate had even passed them in the hallways. Her concern grew as Mercury Black moved to block her path. "Aren't you and Emerald supposed to be doing a mission in Vacuo right about now?" she remarked.

"That's funny, I thought that _you _were supposed to be testing that Schnee company teleporter?" he shot back.

"Wait, _we_ didn't know it was a teleporter that we would be testing until just yesterday, and we never said _anything_ about how we were testing anything until just today due to a confidentiality agreement. How did you…?" Ruby backed up slightly, subtly reaching for her weapon as she did so.

"Our first match is about to go underway," Professor Port's voice ran out over the intercom, "Our first contestant is Penny Polendina from Atlas."

Taking note of how Mercury seemed to gain a malicious grin at that announcement, Ruby gave a glare. She had finally pieced together enough to know that Team CMSN were _not_ who they claimed to be. "What are you _doing?"_

"And our second contestant will be...Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!"

Ruby just gasped. "No!"

Mercury just laughed. "What are you so worried about? Miss Nikos _is_ supposed to be _invincible,_ after all."

Ruby just glared as she got into her fighting stance. On the one hand, she was relieved that whatever they were planning, it was clear that they hadn't yet figured out about Penny's true nature. On the other, it likely wouldn't have mattered if they had; they were intending for someone to _die_ in the very first match. And judging by how Mercury also took a fighting stance soon afterwards, they weren't going to let her stop said fight without her giving one as well. Too bad for them.

"...you want a fight, Mercury? You've got one!"

**To be continued**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Somewhere on Anima, the Branwen Tribe were enjoying the spoils of another successful raid. Two members were playfully wrestling while a few surrounding tribesmen took bets on the winner. Vernal was helping prepare dinner when she spotted a familiar raven soaring through the sky and landing just behind their leader's tent. Soon enough, blasts of fire, ice, and wind erupted from the folds of canvas, accompanied by screams of pure fury. With a smug grin, Shay went to confront his leader. Sure enough, as he entered the tent, he found one Raven Branwen huffing and puffing from exhaustion.

"What's wrong _this time, _boss?" He smiled, crossing his arms as he leaned against one of the tent's poles.

"What's wrong?! What's _wrong?!" _Raven fumed. "How about _lying, scheming, conniving, back-stabbing fake friends?! _All these years I thought Rose was _dead! _But she abandoned _my _kid _and hers! _And when _she _comes back, she gets _hugs and kisses?!"_

"Ooh, I'm sensing a little _jealousy, _boss. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're getting _soft." _Raven's eyes flared as she reached for her katana. Shay's smile slowly faded away. "Don't try to _deny _it. We all know that your little _'weekend excursions' _are just your excuses to go spy on your little _brood. _Is _momma hen _starting to miss her _baby chick?"_

Shay was brought to his knees by a swift kick to the groin. "Get out of my _sight." _Raven hissed. Once her subordinate had left, she removed her blade and set it on her bed. Although she'd never admit it, Shay's words had struck a raw nerve. She _did _miss Yang. And she hated herself for being such a coward.

When she had killed the Spring Maiden in self-defense - she still wasn't entirely sure what had caused the last Maiden to attack her with such anger and ferocity - she could have used her newfound powers to protect the ones she loved. But obtaining such power came at a terrible price. Ozpin was only the first to approach her; warning her about Salem's quest to gather all four of the Maidens' powers. With that in mind, her daughter could have become a target used by Salem to get to her. So rather than facing her fears head on, she chose to return to the Branwen Tribe and sever all ties with her true family.

Raven sighed; now that Summer Rose had returned, she had no chance of ever re-entering Yang's life. After a few more minutes of self-pity, Raven left her tent to get some dinner. She picked up her own bowl and sat down in a secluded area of camp. But it didn't take long for her decoy to notice her sour demeanor and attempt to comfort her. "Why the long face, boss?" She asked.

"I _don't _want to talk about it."

"Alright." Vernal shrugged and sat down beside her leader. "Oh, by the way; that guy from the White Fang came by here again."

"Same speech as _last _time?" Raven grumbled. This hadn't been the first time the White Fang had shown up: in fact, they had been trying to form an alliance with the Branwen Tribe in hopes of gaining more supplies for quite some time, but each time Raven had driven off their advocates.

"Not _exactly." _Vernal went on. "It seems this was their _last _visit. They said that they're done wasting time with us and going ahead with their plans."

"Oh?" Raven nearly sounded impressed.

"Yeah, they said they'll be attacking Beacon at some point." Vernal shrugged. "Something about a _Maiden _and getting rid of a girl with _silver eyes."_

Raven dropped her bowl and rushed back to her tent. She had to get her sword. She had to get back to Yang. Whether she liked it or not, her daughter was about to get a surprise visit.

Meanwhile, back at Beacon, Penny walked into the arena with a wide smile on her face. Her teammates were seated in the bleachers right behind her to provide moral support, and she had no doubt that her best friend - Ruby Rose - would be joining them soon. Best of all, Rachael had promised to record the fight to share it with her father back home. As she met Pyrrha in the center of the ring, she was so happy that she shook her opponent's hand. "Salutations, Miss Nikos! And best of luck!"

"Uh… thank you?" Pyrrha was put off by the girl's enthusiasm, but readied for battle, nonetheless.

And out in the school's garden, Yang Xiao Long was frantically talking to her girlfriend. "Look, I know this sounds _crazy, _but you _have _to believe me! One year from now, you and I enroll in this school together! And after we end up on the same team with my sister and Weiss Schnee, you and I end up falling for each other! And I _will admit _that before we become official, I kinda get caught staring at your ass by Weiss, and she's all like 'you're disgusting' and I'm all 'don't tell me _you _wouldn't wanna tap that!'"

"Did she hit her _head _when she went through the portal?" Fox asked Weiss.

The Schnee heiress could only pinch the bridge of her nose and try to relieve her growing migraine. "Yang, for the _last time; _you haven't gone back in time!"

"She's right, you know: how could you have gone back in time when your time is up?!"

Blake eyes widened - she knew that voice. "Everyone, look out!" She quickly pushed her friends out of the way just in time to block a sword slash courtesy of… "Adam?!"

"Hello, my darling," her psycho ex-boyfriend said as he shoved her back.

"What are you doing here?" Blake demanded.

"I recently got a new partner," he remarked, "and before you ask, I don't know what her end goal is, and frankly, I don't care. As long as I get you back and get revenge on those who stole you from me, she can do whatever she wants."

"'Stole her from…' Hey, asshat: she choose _us!"_ Yang snarled, "And don't think for a minute that I'm going to let you anywhere _near_ her or my teammates!"

Adam just smirked. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about your sister; _I_ don't plan on doing anything to her. In fact, it's rather appropriate that she and her friend end up losing their individual battles at the same time."

"Oh no," Blake mumbled as her eyes widened, realizing that Ruby's worst fears might have been realized, before looking towards her other friends "Fox, Weiss…"

Weiss just nodded. "We're already on it." With that, the two of them ran off with their own objectives; Weiss to assist her partner, Fox to warn his teammates.

Adam just shook his head. "I just don't understand your new friends, Blake. How is it that she choose a Schnee over our righteous cause? How is it that she choose a bimbo over _me?!"_

Yang's eyes turned red as she gave a sarcastic chuckle. "Oh-ho, you did _not_ just say that."

"Yang, be careful! His semblance is like yours," Blake felt the need to point out. "He absorbs energy through his sword, stores it up, and sends it back when he's ready."

"He gets to dish out damage without having to feel it?" Yang couldn't help but scoff at this: "That's just cheap."

Adam just chuckled. "Come now, my love, you never could beat me back in the White Fang even when you teamed up with that chameleon friend of yours. What makes you think this will be any different?"

"I don't have a choice. I have people who _actually_ care about me, and I promised that I'd never leave them again, so I'm not dying now!" Blake shouted back.

Adam just shook his head. "You know, I seem to recall you making a promise to _me_ not so long ago: about how you'd always be at my side...and just _look_ how _well_ you've kept it."

Yang just scoffed. "Did she make that promise to _you_ or to the person you were _pretending_ to be?"

Adam growled. "So I just wasn't good enough…"

"You _know_ it's _so_ much more than that…" Blake couldn't help but reply.

"I know you've made your choice, and _I've_ made _mine_," Adam declared as he fell into a fighting stance, to which Yang and Blake did the same. One way or another, this fight would determine their futures.

_"Are you _certain_ this is what you wish to do?" Glynda couldn't resist asking one last time._

_"If there's even the _slightest_ chance I can help someone, shouldn't I take it? After all, that's what it means to be a huntress," Pyrrha declared, "Just...let me take part in the Festival before I take part in the procedure: on the off-chance this _does_ change who I am as a person, I want my team to have one last set of good memories of the person I _used_ to be before they're forced to get to know the person I'm _going_ to be."_

_Ozpin couldn't help but smile: "You're going to be an _excellent_ Fall Maiden: of this, I already know."_

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at that memory even as she waited for her match with Penny to officially start. She drew Milo and Akouo as Penny activated her own swords. Dr. Oobleck took a long swig of coffee before slamming his fist onto the starter alarm. "BEGIN!" His voice echoed over the intercom.

"NO!" Ruby shouted. The little red huntress sliced at Mercury with Crescent Rose; she had to stop the fight before any harm could come to her friends. But the older student clearly had more experience, and used his weaponized boots to his advantage as he pushed her further away from the arena. "Get out of my way!" She ordered.

"Or _what?" _Mercury laughed as he continued to kick and blast at his opponent. "You can't _touch _me! I was _hand-crafted _to kill people! My experience, my weapons, my skills all _dwarf _yours! Compared to _you, _I am _invincible!"_

Ruby increased her speed and maneuvered behind Mercury, and slashed at his back. As her enemy collapsed, she held Crescent Rose against his neck. "But _you _don't have a _semblance."_

"No one's _perfect." _He sneered. Another swift kick tripped the little red girl, and Mercury sumersalted backwards to safety.

Meanwhile, Blake found herself at the mercy of Adam Taurus. His katana pierced through her aura and her flesh. The pain was unbearable; all she could do was look into his eyes behind his mask. "You took _everything _from me, Blake." Adam snarled as he removed the blade from Blake and turned to Yang. A sinister smile crept over his face. "Now, _I'll _take everything from _you. _Starting with _her."_

"Get _away _from her!" Yang shouted and lunged forward to strike. But she was too slow for the White Fang fanatic as he swung his blade. Yang shrieked in agony as she fell to the ground next to Blake; her arm severed. Adam confidently strutted back towards his victims, prepared to end them once and for all. But just as he brought his sword down for the kill, another blade blocked his strike.

A mysterious woman had appeared out of nowhere and kicked the impudent Faunus away. She sheathed the sword in a specialized scabbard filled with dust and when she drew it again, a wave of flames knocked Adam to the ground. Despite the agonizing pain, Yang found the strength to stand back up and check on her partner. Then she turned back to find Adam was down for the count. "Who the hell are _you?" _She asked the woman.

The woman sighed and pivoted on her heels. She removed her helmet, revealing the same red eyes Yang had whenever she used her semblance. "Hello, Yang." Raven smiled, sadly. "We have a _lot _to talk about."

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was honestly having the time of her life: while she personally _hated_ her nickname of the "Invincible Girl", she couldn't deny that it had been a _long_ time since anyone had given her an actual _challenge. _So when Penny's next sword barrage ended up producing more blades then it had previously, she didn't even question it as she responded in kind...only to lose her smile all of a sudden she heard her opponent shouting out in pain and panic.

Cinder, who had been watching all this from the security cameras she managed to access via the backdoor provided to her was just as surprised as anyone when she, like Pyrrha and everyone else in the audience, caught a glimpse of the _mechanical_ nature of Penny Polendina that was revealed upon the brutal defeat that Emerald helped bring about...but then she smiled. "This has worked out even _better_ than I could've imagined," she said to herself as she reached for a nearby microphone.

"This is _not_ a tragedy."

Ruby gasped out in shock even as Mercury made his escape, as those words from one Cinder Fall could only mean one thing.

"This is _not_ an accident."

Ciel looked upon the battlefield with horror, both at what she was seeing and how she _knew_ that voice. "First my father, now _this._ Is nothing sacred to you, _Cinder Fall?!_" she growled out.

"This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your _children,_ to men who claim to be guardians but are, in reality, nothing more than men."

Summer Rose growled at the screen in front of her broadcasting everything. "You're not going to get away from me _this_ time, Cinder."

"Our academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and _one_ was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet what do we have here?"

Weiss could only stare at the screen in horror, her heart going out to her partner, already knowing how much this would hurt the woman she loved more than her own father.

"One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as a little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference."

Raven growled as the pieces finally slide into place. "So _that's_ her game, eh?" Looking to Blake, she gave a resolute nod. "Look after her for me, okay? _I'll_ look for her sister." She quickly left before the Faunus could reply.

"And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching _his_ students? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, and yet I have witnessed neither."

"I...I'm sorry!" Pyrrha cried out, holding Penny's hand with her own, not feeling much relief at all when the android gave her a look that told her not to worry and that it'd be alright before the life left her mechanical eyes.

"Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong, but I know that the existence of peace is fragile, and our kingdom's leaders conduct their business with iron gloves."

Ozpin frowned and turned to Glynda. "Get me General Ironwood on the line..._now."_

"As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is..._equally_ undesirable."

Ren could only hold Nora in comfort as her PTSD kicked in, all while he and Jaune silently swore to _seriously_ hurt the ones who _dared_ to make Pyrrha and Nora cry.

"Our kingdoms are on the brink of war. Yet we, the _citizens,_ are left in the dark."

All throughout Beacon, several fists were clenched as one thought coursed through their heads at the same time. No matter what happened to them, Team CMSN and their allies would _pay_ for what they'd done.

"So I ask you-when the first shots are fired..._who do you think you can trust?" _Cinder finished her speech with a malicious smile, not at all surprised when the panic generated by her words resulted in the sounds of Grimm rampaging through the halls.

After seeing what had happened to Penny, Ruby was furious. She pushed her semblance harder than ever before; searching every hallway and back door to the stadium, determined to find the ones responsible. Suddenly, a dark shadow soared over the huntress in training, and a woman landed right in front of her. "Ruby, _stop!"_

"Get out of my way!" Ruby shouted, but the woman managed to grab onto her. "Let me _go! _Who _are _you?!"

"Look, I know we've never _met, _but _trust _me! This is for your own good!" The woman struggled to keep the swift girl at bay. "Dammit, _listen _to me! I'm _Yang's mom!"_

"I don't _care!" _Ruby suddenly felt her rage spike - as if some kind of primal energy had entered her mind and given her an adrenaline rush. She elbowed Raven in the face and took off once more. At last, she saw Mercury and Emerald boarding a ship with the White Fang's flag painted on the side. With another tremendous burst of speed, she tore through the ship's hull, leaving a trail of flames behind her.

"What the fu-?!" Was all Mercury could say before Ruby's fist connected with his jaw.

Then, she turned her attention to Emerald. It was because of her illusion that Penny was dead; just looking at her was enough to send Ruby further over the edge. "My best friend is _dead _because of you!" She snarled. "And I will avenge her! Or my name isn't _Paulette Rose!"_

"'Paulette?'" Despite her fear, Emerald arched an eyebrow. Luckily for her, she could see Mercury recovering behind their opponent. All she had to do was keep her distracted. "What're you _talking _about? Your name's _Ruby, _right?"

"That doesn't _matter!" _The huntress growled, her fist clenching Crescent Rose so hard her knuckles turned white. She sliced and shot at the green-haired assassin until she finally knocked her off her feet. Still enraged, Ruby aimed the blade of her beloved weapon directly at Emerald's neck. "Your death will not be _swift, _murderer! I shall see to it that you endure _every _cruel and unusual punishment in existence! Your screams will _echo _throughout all of Remnant! And only until I have grown _weary _of bathing in your blood will I allow you to die!"

Mercury had heard plenty of threats in his life, but none had ever genuinely frightened him. This was nothing like the sweet little girl he had so much fun toying with. This was pure, unadulterated fury. "Okay, don't bitch out, _now, _Black." He thought to himself. "Just got to sneak up behind her… and snap her little… wait a minute… the hell is that _music?"_

Just then, a military vehicle drove over the hill at a tremendous speed. Inside the vehicle, Weiss rode shotgun, shooting ice dust from Myrtenaster while Coco Adel drove the vehicle. The rest of Team CFVY sat in the back with their own weapons ready. The surprise was enough to distract Ruby long enough for Emerald and Mercury to escape her wrath. But that only left them vulnerable to Velvet's fire from the Warthog's machine gun.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Emerald shouted.

"Ow! Fuckin' shit! Fuckin' shit! Fuckin' shit! Fuckin' shit!" Mercury was right behind her.

Eventually, the assassins found cover behind a rock. While Weiss went to check on Ruby, Team CFVY continued their attack. "Okay… we'll just… wait here for Cinder… yeah?" Emerald struggled to catch her breath. "I mean… that things _gotta _run out of ammo... right?"

**To be continued**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Twenty minutes later, Emerald and Mercury were still cowering behind a bolder. "Man, doesn't that thing ever _run out?" _Emerald groaned.

"Y'know, in hindsight, we probably should've stolen the _tank _we saw, earlier." Mercury replied.

"Mercury, what good is a tank if neither of us know how to _drive _it?!" She snapped.

"Oh, yeah." He rolled his eyes, sarcastically. "I can see how _hiding behind a rock _is the better strategy."

"Well, yeah, I mean… ugh, guess I gotta give you _that _one."

Meanwhile, as Velvet continued firing at the assassins, Ruby gleefully cheered her on. "Yes! Yes! _YES! _Wipe them out! Keep firing until there's nothing left but a _red mist! _I shall avenge my beloved Penny! And then, I'm going after _SALEM!"_

"What the hell has gotten _into _you, kid?" Raven grumbled before cupping her hands over her mouth to amplify her voice. "Velvet! _Velvet! VELVEEEEEEEET!" _The rabbit Faunus finally let off the trigger and jumped down from the gunner's seat. Raven cleaned out her ears. "Damn, that thing is _loud."_

"... _WHAT?!" _Velvet shouted.

"NO!" Ruby yelled out, practically frothing at the mouth in rage, "Why'd you stop!? They _need_ to pay for…"

Having heard just about enough, Weiss slapped her partner across the face. "Get a hold of yourself!" She yelled out, tears in her eyes. "I know how much you're hurting right now, how you want them to pay for what they've done, but this anger you're feeling right now is _not_ who you are! The dolt of a girl who befriended Velvet and Penny? The one who was incapable of _hate?_ The one who who didn't bat an eye when it was revealed that Blake was a Faunus and ex-White Fang member? The one who has stood by her sister through thick and thin? The one who had more than enough _kindness_ in her heart to get _me_ to stop being so prideful and start caring about others as well? _That_ is the Ruby Rose I know and love! What would _Penny_ say if she saw that girl right now?! Saw her caring more about _killing_ a couple of spies instead of _protecting_ the countless innocent people surrounding her?!"

Placing her hand on the cheek that was slapped, Ruby blinked a few times before tearing up a little bit: "I...I'm sorry: I don't know what came over me. I just...felt this _rage._ It overwhelmed me. I couldn't stop myself. I...wait: did you just say love me?"

Weiss was just barely able to suppress her blush. "That...that isn't important right now. We've got more important things to deal with."

"Darn right you do!" Mercury yelled out as he leaped out to try and attack them...only to feel his attack, and himself, stop midair.

"You aren't killing _anyone_ else," one Pyrrha Nikos declared as he held the assassin aloft with her semblance before slamming him down onto the ground, knocking him out, before turning to Ruby with tears in her eyes. "Ruby, I...I am _so_ sorry."

Ruby frowned, with how upset she'd been over Penny's death, she couldn't even _imagine_ what Pyrrha was going through. "Me too," she said with a resolute nod, "but it wasn't your fault."

"She's right," Jaune said as he approached with his partner's weapons, having been left behind in shame. "Whoever was on the microphone, and whoever was helping her..._they're_ the ones who did this, and we have to make sure they don't take anyone else," he declared before presenting Pyrrha with her sword and shield, which, after some trepidation, she gladly accepted.

Having seen and heard of this, Emerald decided that now might be a good time to make a break for it...only to freeze upon feeling a blade at the back of her neck.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" Ciel demanded, her Chronal Assassin - a pocket watch producing a blade - at the ready. "I'm guessing you can't use your semblance on anyone you can't see, so don't even bother trying any of your tricks with me. Don't worry; I don't plan on killing you, but if you don't tell us where Cinder Fall is right now, I might have to get a little..._creative_ with my knife work."

Emerald gulped hard and held her hands up in surrender. Ciel and the remainder of Team CPPR escorted Mercury and Emerald to Ozpin's office where they would face their punishment. Meanwhile, Yang limped over to her sister and hugged her for comfort. Blake and Weiss quickly followed suit, and Team RWBY united in mourning their fallen friend, Penny.

One week later, Beacon had temporarily been shut down and the students were sent home to recover. Blake and Weiss, not wanting to leave their partners behind, went with Ruby and Yang to the infirmary. Jean Purple of Team CPPR came with them as well to help Yang recover from her amputation. After checking her blood pressure, she transformed her monitor into a stethoscope and monitored the blonde brawler's heartbeat. "Alright, everything _sounds _okay."

"What the hell does my _heartbeat _and _blood pressure_ have to do with my freaking arm?!" Yang growled.

"Yang! Be nice!" Blake scolded.

"Besides, I'm just following _standard procedure." _Jean shrugged, transforming her stethoscope into an otoscope and looked inside her ears. "But if you want to cut to the chase, have you felt any _phantom pains?"_

Blake stared in confusion at Jean's bizarre device. "Jean? What kind of _weapon _does that turn into?"

"Oh, it doesn't turn into _any _kind of weapon." Jean brushed a strand of violet hair from her face as she explained. "I don't like carrying weapons. I only joined my huntress school for their _medical program. _I'm a _pacifist."_

"Oh, so you're going to be a _doctor?" _Blake smiled.

"No. I've grown too fond of my teammates, so I've decided to stay with them as a _medic!"_

"What's the difference?"

"Well, a _doctor _cures people. A _medic _just makes them feel better… while they die."

While Yang continued with her checkup, Raven watched over her from outside. The Spring Maiden was perched on a tree branch, hugging her knees to her chest. It pained her to see her own daughter like this, but there was nothing she could do. Suddenly, she heard someone climbing up the tree to sit next to her; it was her former teammate, Summer Rose. Those dazzling silver eyes were filled with the same innocent sympathy Raven came to appreciate.

"Would you like to come inside?" Summer offered. "Yang might appreciate it. And believe it or not, Tai would, too."

Raven scoffed. "I doubt that, Summer. Given how I left them, I don't think they'd want any comfort I'd have to offer."

"... suit yourself." Summer sighed and began to climb down, until…

"Does he still take his medicine?" Raven asked.

"Huh?" Summer's eyebrow arched.

"Back when we were still Team STRQ, Taiyang struggled with depression." Raven elaborated. "He used to take medicine to help. Is he still keeping up with his prescriptions?"

Summer smiled, softly, and climbed back up. The two friends had a lot of catching up to do.

"You're wrong, you know."

Raven blinked, looking down at the source of the voice. She shook her head upon noticing Ruby looking back up at her, realizing that her reunion with her former partner would be put on hold. "What do you mean?" she asked the girl standing below her.

"She never hated you, not really," the red cloaked girl declared, "She just wanted to know why you left. Honestly, you avoid her _now_ and you'll just be proving to her that it was because you _hated_ her."

"That's not true!" she shouted, before she started to tear up, "I _never_ hated her. I can't tell you everything, not yet anyways, but long story short, I ended up accidentally killing someone within the tribe who was like a daughter to me in her own right, and I was afraid of doing the same to her. She deserves a _real_ mother, not a _murderer_ like me."

"...you sound just like her." Ruby couldn't help but snort even as her mother reached over to comfort her sister's mother. "My sister ended up nearly getting _me_ killed when we were young and she avoided me for the longest time saying that I deserved better than to have a _murderer_ as an older sister. Well, I'll tell _you_ the same thing I told _her:_ you obviously didn't _intend_ for anyone to get hurt, so I couldn't care less how much blood you _think_ is on your hands: I just want you as a part of my life...and I know that, while it might take her some time to accept that you're truly back, Yang feels the same way."

Raven stared at her for a while, before gaining a smile. "My daughter was truly blessed to have grown up with a sister like you. I'll be sure to see her sometime today...and I look forward to getting to know _you_ better as well, Ruby Rose."

"...and _I_ look forward to getting to know _you,_ Auntie Raven." Ruby nodded before taking off to see her sister...only to freeze as she saw Pyrrha and Ciel heading towards Beacon Tower despite how heavily Grimm infested the area was. Knowing that they were likely heading to deal with Cinder, given she might have headed there to grab something in all the chaos, she quickly grabbed Crescent Rose and followed them, determined to back them up if necessary.

Ciel checked her watch once again just before she and her partner arrived at Beacon Tower. If this was to be the first time she ever went against orders, it would be done on schedule. All she and Pyrrha had to do was find Cinder, terminate her, and escape. Only then would Penny be avenged. "Que les dieux veillent sur nous, en cela, notre temps de besoin. (May the gods watch over us, in this, our time of need.)" She prayed.

"Did you say something?" Pyrrha asked, readying her spear.

Ciel grumbled. "Does _anyone _understand French, anymore?"

"Oh, is _that_ what you were speaking? Wow, I owe you an apology: all this time I thought it was Spanish," Ruby declared, having caught up to them. She gave a bitter chuckle as they looked at her in shock: "What? Did you think I _wouldn't_ want to take part in avenging Penny's death? Besides, I have to make up for my earlier temper tantrum _somehow._"

"Ruby, none of us blame you for getting angry." Pyrrha declared.

"_I_ do," Ruby remarked, "or rather, I blame myself for letting my anger control _me_ and not the other way around. Besides, if there's even the _slightest_ chance I can help someone, shouldn't I take it? That's what it means to be a huntress, after all."

Pyrrha blinked a few times, before giving a chuckle. "Well, I can't really argue with _that."_

"Neither can I," Ciel declared with a chuckle, before frowning, realizing this was the first time she and the cloaked girl in front of her had ever had a pleasant conversation despite their shared connection with a certain android girl. "Listen, Ruby, in case something happens…"

Ruby just held up a hand with a bittersweet smile: "Whatever you have to say to me, you can save it until _after_ we've dealt with Cinder. One way or another, she's going to know _exactly_ who she messed with."

Ciel just gave a nod before looking towards the tower. "Vous avez tué mon père, et maintenant vous avez tué mon coéquipier: votre punition est la mort, Cinder Fall. (You killed my father, and now you've killed my teammate: your punishment is death, Cinder Fall.)"

Pyrrha just nodded. "I might not speak French, but I think I get the general idea of what you were saying, and you're right: there's no way we're letting Cinder get away with what she's done."

Ruby followed Ciel's gaze to the tower with a nod of her own. "This one's for you, Penny." With that, the trio headed out to fight their mutual foe.

Cinder watched the "invincible" girl strut towards the tower with a smile on her face. Although she had yet to find the Summer Maiden, Priscilla's promise of gaining the entirety of the Fall Maiden's powers was about to be fulfilled. Using her semblance to conjure up a bow and arrow out of dust, she made her way down the spiral staircase to confront her destiny.

The trio of huntresses had split up and circled the tower, hoping to surround Cinder before she could attack. But while her friends were more focused, Ruby found herself nursing the same mild headache she'd had since Cinder's attack on Beacon. She had considered bringing it up to her parents, but with Yang losing her arm, it didn't seem so important. Trying her best to ignore it, she climbed up the steps to face Cinder… the woman who lied to her and her friends… the woman who ruined the world's view of Beacon… the woman responsible for killing her best friend.

"Pay… pay… she _needs _to pay…"

There it was again; the voice. Every time Ruby heard this voice, it felt as if her head was on fire. She stopped her climb to lean against the wall as she massaged her forehead. "Who _are _you?"

"Cinder… must… die…"

"I don't… understand…" Ruby dropped her weapon.

"Kill. Destroy. Revenge." The voice grew louder with every word. "Don't you want to avenge Penny? Don't you _want _Cinder to die?! Tear out her _heart! _Bathe in her _blood! _Make her feel the same _fear _Penny felt in her final moments!"

"No!" Ruby punched the wall in frustration. "I'm not a _murderer!"_

Suddenly, she heard someone scream in pain. She recognized the voice and immediately forgot about her migraine. Grabbing Crescent Rose, she used her semblance to race up the remaining stairs. She had to save Pyrrha. Halfway to the top of the tower, she found a familiar French girl lying on the ground with an arrow piercing her shoulder. "Ciel!" Ruby dropped to her knees to check on her friend. She removed the arrow as gently as she could, and patched the wound with a torn cloth. "Are you okay? _Say _something."

"Père...? Est-ce vous…? (Father…? Is that you...?)" Ciel muttered, weakly.

"I'll be _back. _I _promise." _Ruby whispered.

"See? Cinder is willing to kill _all _of your friends!" Again the voice echoed in Ruby's mind. "The only way to stop her from killing anyone _else _is for _you _to kill _her!"_

It was then Ruby remembered something Emerald had said, and very nearly stopped running, having pieced some of the pieces together. "This isn't the first time she's hurt you, is it...Paulette?" The silence she was greeted with was enough to tell her that _both_ of her theories were correct. "I don't know how you got inside my head, but whoever or whatever you are, you're right about one thing: Cinder needs to pay for what she's done...but Pyrrha's safety comes first. Help me make sure she's safe, and then you can deal with Cinder however you like."

For what seemed like an eternity - but was really only about five seconds - Paulette was silent, before giving a chuckle that echoed through Ruby's head. "You truly _are_ the daughter of Summer Rose. Very well: I'll help you protect your friends so long _you_ agree to help _me_ seek vengeance on those who took my sisters away from me."

Ruby took a cleansing breath as she approached the top of the tower, the sound of fighting getting louder as she did, before nodding: "If...no, _when_ Pyrrha comes out of this alive, I'll do everything I can to help you seek _justice_ for your fallen siblings...and who knows? Maybe someday we'll come to think of each other as sisters from different misters."

"I can accept those terms...and as to your other comment, perhaps that won't take as long as you think." It might have just been her imagination, but Ruby could almost feel Paulette giving her a smile of approval.

Meanwhile, Cinder gave an arrogant chuckle as the fight she was having with Pyrrha finally started to slow down a bit. "I hate to admit it, but I'm impressed. It's easy to see that your title as the 'invincible girl' wasn't _too_ much of a stretch. Against most opponents, no doubt you are nearly untouchable...but unfortunately for you, I am _not_ 'most opponents.'"

Pyrrha spat some blood from her mouth before giving the false Maiden a glare. "You planning on _talking_ me to death?"

Cinder just gave a smug grin. "Actually, I thought I'd _beat_ you to death."

"Mind if I cut in?"

Cinder barely had time to blink before she was forced to dodge a scythe swipe that managed to hit a nearby Boarbatusk instead, before giving her would-be assassin a glare. _"You."_

"Yes, _me,"_ Ruby shot back with a glare, "and honestly, I'm a little embarrassed that it took me this long to recognize you; the woman who helped Roman Torchwick escape, the lady who infiltrated Beacon during the dance...honestly, we've been building up towards this moment since even before Ozpin approached me about joining the academy."

Cinder just gave a growl before noticing a Nevermore approaching the tower, and grinned maliciously. "Indeed we have, so it's such a shame that we'll have to cut this short." With that she used her semblance to knock some debris onto Pyrrha, pinning her down even as said Nevermore neared their location.

"No!" Ruby yelled, turning in hopes of protecting her friend. Before she could move an inch, however, she cried out in pain as Cinder slash her leg and shoved her to the ground.

"Oh, nononono." Cinder said even as she pinned the girl to the ground. "You won't be playing the hero _this time._ You're going to watch as another one of your friends dies in front of you."

Ruby could only tremble in fear. She needed to do something; she couldn't just lie there. She begged Paulette, the universe, anyone who would listen, for the chance to protect her friend. And against all odds, her prayers were answered as she felt something within her begin to bubble to the surface. She didn't know what it was, but as she closed her eyes, she wasn't sure if she cared at the moment. Even now, she had the power to protect those dear to her, and she was going to use it_._ "Leave...her...ALONE!"

Pyrrha couldn't believe what she was seeing: the moment Ruby's eyes snapped open again, a blinding silver light filled the area, freezing the Nevermore and the Grimm around them in place. Even as she used her remaining strength to remove herself from the rubble, she couldn't help but give Ruby a look of admiration. She'd always known that the girl was special, and this proved it.

Further down the tower, Ciel looked upon the silver light that radiated from within the tower and smiled. She didn't know how, but she knew that a certain hooded girl was responsible for this.

Back at the infirmary, everyone else saw the light and immediately realized that it was connected to how three of the students were still missing. Raven in particular gave an affectionate groan upon connecting the dots. "That girl really _is_ your daughter, Summer." she remarked before leaping off the ledge she was sitting on - only for a black bird to start flying towards the tower in question.

Needless to say, however, Cinder wasn't as thrilled about this new development as everyone else. "What!?" That was literally all she could say. As soon as the light hit her, she felt an intense surge of pain that seemed to course through her very being, threatening to tear her apart. And it was taking everything she had not to pass out as a result. She froze as she grabbed her arm as she belatedly remembered a key feature of the girl she had previously been pinning to the ground: she had Silver Eyes. And here she was; a woman with a Grimm arm, trying to antagonize one of the few people capable of actually killing her. So shocked by her oversight, that she hadn't even noticed Pyrrha approaching her with one of the glass shards she had created earlier in the battle even as she stumbled back in pain and shock - that was until the "Invincible Girl" had stabbed her in the back with it.

Pyrrha was _not_ a malicious girl, and yet she couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction as the woman in front of her gaped in horror at how all her plans were falling apart before her. "Feel that?" she remarked. Briefly, she gave a sigh of relief upon noticing Ruby's continued breathing, being assured that she had just passed out after whatever it was that just happened. Then, she glared at the enemy. _"That_ was for Penny...and for everyone else you've made suffer through your actions." With that, she shoved the false Maiden away from her, only to reach out in desperation as the woman - in her shock - had started to stumble towards a gap in the wall. Unfortunately, she just barely failed to grab onto Cinder before she tumbled into the water below.

"I wouldn't worry about her."

Pyrrha blinked and turned towards the entrance.

"I hate to give _her_ any complements, but she's very resilient. No way _this_ managed to kill her, so it'll be a simple matter of looking for her further downstream." Raven declared while carrying Ciel on her back, before giving Ruby an affectionate smile. "You truly _are_ Summer's daughter, aren't you?" Sighing, she turned towards Pyrrha. "Come on, let's get these two back to the infirmary. I'll go ahead and explain what happened."

Pyrrha nodded. "Alright, but if you don't mind my asking, who _are_ you?"

Raven blinked, belatedly realizing that she never did introduce herself to anyone other then Team RWBY. Remembering her earlier conversation with Ruby, she allowed herself a smile. "I guess you could say I'm Ruby's Aunt Raven."

Two days later, Ruby was safely back home. She should have been happy. She thought that by killing Cinder Fall, she would feel a sense of justice for Penny's death. Instead, she just felt empty. She took out her scroll and looked through the pictures of her best friend. When she first met Penny, she knew she was different, but it didn't matter to her. Penny had proven to be one of the most beautiful souls she had ever had the pleasure of meeting. She set down her scroll once the tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Ruby?" A soft knock at the door drew her attention. Ciel walked inside and sat down next to her. "Racheal, Jean and I have been given our new orders. We will leave soon, but I wanted to tell you that Penny… she loved you. Whenever she was with us, she would only talk about you."

Ruby rubbed her eyes, sobbing. "I didn't even get to say goodbye."

"Ruby, I - HEEGURRGUHGURK!" The dark-skinned girl suddenly spasmed and collapsed to the ground.

"Oh, my gosh!" Ruby jumped up in shock. "Ciel?! Are you _okay?!"_

Without warning, Ciel opened her eyes and smiled, brightly. "BONJOUR!" She exclaimed and tackled Ruby in a crushing hug.

"HURGH!" Ruby could hardly breath. "Ciel! What're you doing?!"

"Oh, Ruby! J'avais si peur! (Oh, Ruby! I was so scared!)" Ciel kissed Ruby's cheek, affectionately, never letting go. "Mais c'est d'accord! Je t'ai trouvé, et je vais - attends ... pourquoi je parle Français? Je ne parle pas Français! (But it's okay! I've found you and I'll - wait… why am I speaking French? I can't speak French!)"

"Uh, Ciel, I don't speak French." Ruby gasped. "Why are you crushing me?"

"Oh, pardon! (Oh, sorry!)" Ciel released her grip on the poor girl and stood up. "Je viens… ugh! Pourquoi je parle Français?! (I just… ugh! Why am I speaking French?!)"

Just then, Yang walked into the room, showing off her gift from General Ironwood. "Hey, Rubes! Check out my new - whoa. Hey, Ciel."

Ciel's eyes sparkled at the sight of the robotic appendage right before she collapsed, again. Suddenly, Yang's new arm began to act on it's own; moving to act out a salute. "SALUTATIONS!" A familiar voice echoed from the built-in speaker.

"That voice… _Penny?!" _Ruby gasped in disbelief. "Is that _really _you?"

"Yes, Ruby! I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner." Yang's hand opened and closed like a hand-puppet as Penny went on. "You see, although my physical body was _destroyed, _my artificial intelligence was able to jump from machine to machine in order to preserve my consciousness! But now that I've found you, I need only to contact my fellow teammates and have them contact my father! He will build me a new body to store my consciousness!"

Ruby's eyes began to water again - but this time, they were tears of joy. It was a miracle. She hugged the arm to her chest, ignoring the visible confusion of her elder sister. "Oh, Penny, I was so _worried!" _She cried, happily. "Don't worry; I'll make sure we call your father _right away! _So you can get a new body, and we can start hanging out, again! _AND START KILLING EVERYONE!"_

Yang blinked at Ruby's sudden dark tone. "Uh, you mean killing all the _Grimm, _right?"

"Of course!" Ruby smiled. "For _starters!" _She added, sinisterly.

**To be continued**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Weiss? We need to talk about Ruby." Yang said, nervously.

The young heiress groaned. "Yang, how many times do I have to tell you? I am _not _your mother. You can't come and tattle to me on each other when one of you does something the other doesn't like."

"I'm telling you, she's gone _crazy!" _Yang exclaimed. "She keeps calling herself 'Paulette' and threatening me in a scary voice!"

"No, I didn't!" Ruby denied.

"Oh?" Yang placed both hands on her hips as she faced her younger sister. "So, you're saying you _didn't _threaten to cut off my other arm and give it to Penny as a birthday present?"

"I think you're just taking my words out of _context."_

"'Context?!'" Yang spluttered. _"What _context?!"

Just then, Rachael arrived with the order for Penny's new body already on her scroll. "Hey, Weiss? Sorry to interrupt, but this order needs a _signature."_

"Of course. You two sort this out on your own." Weiss told her teammates as she left to complete the order.

Ruby turned to face Yang; her silver eyes changing to black. "Don't. _Ever. _Be. Alone." She growled.

"She's doing that _thing _again!" Yang whispered, trying to get Weiss' attention.

With Weiss' signature, the order form for Penny's new body was well under way. Rachael sent the application then called Command in Atlas to ensure the message got through. "Hello? Command? Come in, Command. This is Rachael Red of Team CPPR."

"Yes, hello, dude. This is Sally, how may I help you?" A chipper voice responded.

"Yes, I'm calling to confirm the order request I just sent to General Ironwood regarding Penny Polendina?"

"Oh, yes. Of course, dude." Sally replied. "General Ironwood was indeed pleased to learn that Miss Polendina was preserved. Rest assured, he has received the order. Also, he wants to… oh."

"What?" Rachael arched an eyebrow. "He wants to what?"

"Uh, nevermind, dude. Says here I'm not supposed to read you that part. Report back to your team and await further orders. That is all." With that, Sally hung up, leaving Rachael confused as to what she meant by that.

Meanwhile, Raven and Summer were still watching over the students. Raven seemed particularly interested in Ruby - the youngest huntress in training seemed to be growing more aggressive than she usually behaved. On the other hand, the Branwen tribe leader had felt much less angry at herself and the world in general. Turning to her former teammate, she decided to find out if it wasn't just a coincidence. "Hey, Summer? Have you noticed anything… _different _about your daughter?"

"You mean how she keeps threatening _your _daughter?" Summer rubbed her chin. "Yes. Something is _definitely _wrong. Let me call some old friends and see what we can do."

Back in the infirmary, Jean was changing the bandages on Jaune's leg when Professor Port and the other teachers walked in. "Ah, hello, my students!" The jolly teacher boomed. "I am pleased to inform you all that Beacon Academy will be resuming it's usual classes next week!"

Glynda's icy glare landed on Jaune. "Mister Arc, I must say I am a bit disappointed in your skills as a leader. Because of your negligence, Miss Nikos was almost killed. If you wish to remain at this academy, you _must _improve your leadership skills."

"Y-yes, ma'am…" Jaune looked down at his feet in shame. As much as he hated to admit it, Miss Goodwitch was right.

The dominatrix turned her gaze to the medic before leaving. "You'd best be careful around this lot, girl. They tend to attract trouble to themselves."

As Glynda walked away, Jean stood up and called out to her. "Uh, just for the record, ma'am! This guy isn't really my _friend! _I'm just patching him up!" She brushed her violet-dyed hair out of her eyes and turned back to Jaune - who was now glaring at her. "Sorry, but it's pretty clear that you're not exactly popular with the teachers here, and if I want to get ahead anywhere, I can't be seen directly associated with you… I'm sure you understand… it's only because they don't like you… please, stop staring at me."

Glynda shook her head as she left the infirmary, choosing to ignore how Jean continued to inadvertently kill her good graces with Team JNPR's leader and instead focus on the problem in-front of her. "How could you trust _them,_ Ozpin? I'll admit they have good intentions, but they're still just _children. _And what's worse, they _act_ like it too: even _now,_ they don't even seem to _care_ about how close they all were to _dying."_

"You're wrong."

Glynda blinked, before looking towards the doorway.

"You _really_ think we don't realize how many people died despite our best efforts? How close _we_ were to dying?" Blake demanded with a glare, "I _still_ haven't heard any word as to what happened to Adam, and don't even get me _started_ on how Roman Torchwick and Neo Politan managed to escape."

Glynda had to hold back a wince at this: after everything that happened, she actually managed to forget that the girl in front of her had nearly run away in the night due to the shame of how her ex-boyfriend had cost her partner a limb. "Listen, we're doing everything we can to keep everyone safe-"

"And you think _we_ haven't?!" Blake shouted, before taking a cleansing breath, "Look, I know that you're only worried about us, and we appreciate it, but if we don't use our skills to protect our friends, to do what we believe is _right,_ then what's the point in the training we do here at Beacon?" Blake blinked upon saying those words, remembering a conversation from earlier.

"_What's the point of me being here?! All I'll be doing is placing them in danger!" Blake demanded even as Professor Ozpin blocked her path out of Beacon._

"_Yes, what _is_ the point?" Ozpin said with a roll of his eyes. _"I_ certainly wouldn't trust someone who cut off her own partner's arm off. Oh, wait; it wasn't _you_ who did that, was it?"_

"_I'm being serious here!" Blake shouted._

"_So am I," Ozpin remarked, before sighing. "As I've told your team leader, I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet, but at this moment, I would _not_ consider my accepting you into this Academy to be one of them. You want to make up for your past mistakes? Do so by staying beside your teammates. From what I understand, Adam Taurus threatened to hurt them: what good would running away do when all it does is leave them vulnerable for him to do just that?" _

Glynda just sighed, bringing Blake out of her thoughts. "...was there something else you needed, or did you just come here to chew me out?" the Vice-Headmistress asked.

Blake gave a sigh of her own, "Actually, I was wondering if you knew anyone who might be able to help Ruby. Seems the stress of everything has resulted in her gaining a split personality disorder or something: the mood swings, the shifts in eye color, and don't even get me _started_ on the arguments with Paulette."

Glynda felt like her heart had stopped for a brief moment: "What did you say?"

Blake shrugged: "The past few days, I've caught Ruby arguing with her reflection: insists on calling it 'Paulette' for some reason. Wouldn't say much, but she accidentally let it slip that she started hearing a voice in her head shortly before the Grimm started swarming the campus. I'm thinking that whatever Cinder was after might have had an affect on her or something."

Glynda narrowed her eyes, "Something...or perhaps _someone."_ Shaking her head, she declared, "I think _I'll_ have a talk with Ruby."

Blake's eyes widened at that, "Whoa, _easy_ there, Miss Goodwich. Whatever you think of us, Ruby's _innocent_ in all of this."

Glynda blinked upon hearing this, before giving the cat Faunus a look of understanding and compassion. "Fret not, Miss Belladonna. I have no intention of hurting your Team Leader. Like you said, _Ruby_ is innocent in all of this." She smiled at Blake in a reassuring way, who nodded and left to find her teammates. As the Faunus left, however, the dominatrix-style huntress gained a frown. "Indeed, Ruby _is_ innocent in all of this...but _Paulette_ certainly _isn't."_

Meanwhile, Ruby was having another one of those arguments Blake had been talking about. "I just don't understand; why do you keep antagonizing my sister like this? I'm fairly certain _she_ hasn't done _anything_ to you or those sisters you mentioned."

Paulette - currently in control of Ruby's body as per their agreement - raised "her" hands in a calming manner. "Easy there, if you want me to stop threatening her, all you need to do is ask...but I _do_ have my reasons. You've seen what happened during her battle with this 'Adam' your teammate mentioned. I'm just ensuring that she knows what to be prepared for in case he returns...and he _will_ return if those rumors of him working with _Cinder_ are to be believed."

Ruby just sighed. This whole situation was just _stressful,_ so it was just about all she could do, both figuratively and literally. She still had control over her own mouth for private conversations like this, but Paulette still had control of her body as per their agreement: since Paulette had kept Pyrrha alive and given her a slight nudge of influence, taking care of Cinder as a result, Ruby was to aid Paulette in finding those who took the latter's sisters from her. Still… "There's a _big_ difference between doing a battle simulation and just being rude, which is why _we_ will need to apologize to Yang later on today. That said, maybe you should let _me_ take over for a while. No offence, but any apology coming from _my_ mouth will sound more genuine with _me_ being the one giving it."

Paulette gave a chuckle. "None taken, and I _suppose_ I could let you do the talking for a bit. I admit that perhaps I let my anger guide my actions far too often, so it is refreshing to have a calming influence like you around...not that it's too surprising, given your legacy."

Ruby gave a slight smile, knowing that she was referring both to how she was Summer's daughter - she'd have to ask how she knew her Mom someday - and how she was one of the last Silver Eyed Warriors. She still remembered her conversation with Ozpin after she had woken up following her battle with Cinder regarding that last bit.

"_Is _that_ why you let me into Beacon?" Ruby couldn't help but tear up as she asked this._

"_I'll admit that the notion of a little girl who could freeze Grimm in place with but a look _could_ be quite the boon to my Academy were I the type of person to take advantage of something like - which I'm not - but at the end of the day, your Silver Eyes are just a tool: all _I_ wanted to do was help the person who wielded it become the huntress she yearned to be," Professor Ozpin replied, "I meant what I said not so long ago: for all my mistakes, I do _not_ consider you being a student here to be one of them."_

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Paulette. Really, all I've ever wanted to do was help people," Ruby replied as she came back to the present.

"Then perhaps you can help _me,_ Miss Rose," called Glynda from the doorway.

"EEP!" Ruby cried out in shock, temporarily in control of her own body again due to her surge of emotion. "Miss...Miss Goodwich! I was just…"

Glynda chuckled and even gave her a look of understanding, "As I've told Miss Belladonna, you aren't in trouble, Ruby. That said, if you would come back to my office with me, there _is_ something I'd like to discuss with you."

Ruby wasn't _quite_ prepared for when Paulette regained control and gave her instructor a fake smile. "Yes, I believe that _I_ have something to discuss with _you_ as well," was the reply that came out of her mouth. Instantly, Ruby felt a spike of fear surge through her, feeling, not for the first time, a bit uncomfortable with this arrangement she had found herself in.

Glynda, noticing the change in "Ruby's" demeanor and knowing the fear that no doubt was running through the heart of the _true_ Ruby Rose better than most, placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder even as they walked towards her office. "I promise Ruby: I'll do everything I can to help you." She allowed herself a smile: though the girl's hands physically remained stationary at her side, she could almost feel/imagine a small hand grabbing her own in appreciation.

Meanwhile Coco, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi were discussing Ruby's situation, having noticed some of the changes as well. "The device you wanted should be arriving with no problems," Coco declared, having just got off the phone.

Velvet nodded. "Good. I can jury rig it to be more portable at a later day, but for now, I'll take a large and bulky mind-dive device over none at all. Now all we need to do is try and convince her to let us use it so we can deal with these mood swings of hers. That said, I can't help but wonder if we could have avoided this personality change of hers if we had brought up the nature of our relationship _slowly?"_

Yatsuhashi gave the rabbit faunus a comforting pat on the back. "Something tells me it isn't quite that simple, but perhaps you're right and we shouldn't have just dropped a bomb like that on her after _just _finding out that you and Coco were a thing: the fact that Cinder's attack on Beacon happened _right_ after said bomb dropped probably didn't help her mental state all that much. We can't change the past, though, and obsessing over it won't help anyone."

Coco smiled. "Well said, though I wouldn't say 'no' to a distraction right about now."

As if on cue, Fox burst into the room, a large smile on his face. "Hey, guys, check out the armor one of the Atlas specialists that are helping Beacon with reconstruction lent me! Sure he was a bit hesitant at first, but I managed to wear him down. Anyways, what do you think?"

Velvet blinked a few times at what she was seeing before clearing her throat. "Fox, we all respect you, and you _know_ that we don't hold your blindness against you, but that armor...how do I put this?"

"It's pink. Your armor is _pink!"_ Yatsuhashi declared bluntly.

Velvet just winced. "Yeeeah. _That."_

Fox blinked. "Wait, what? That can't be right. Why would they give me pink armor?"

"Well you _did_ say the specialist you got it from was hesitant to give it to you. Maybe this is why?" Velvet offered with a shrug."

Needless to say, Fox wasn't too happy about this revelation. "What?! No, I'm sure he was just concerned how the higher ups would react...and besides, maybe it's not even pink. More of a… lightish red."

Yatsuhashi just sighed. "Fox, they already _have _a color for 'lightish red.' You know what it's called? PINK!"

Coco just chuckled even as Velvet went to give Fox a comforting pat on the back, the latter of which just groaned in annoyance at both Yatsuhashi and himself. Well, she _had_ asked for a distraction.

Speaking of distractions, Blake was currently making out with Yang. Both as an apology for letting Adam take her arm, and to get her mind off of Ruby's sudden change in behavior. She was just about to take things to the next level when they heard Raven clear her throat. The couple separated out of shock, and Raven looked up and down Blake's figure. Her slender build, her black hair, and of course, her katana. The older woman snorted. "I see you inherited your father's _tastes."_

Yang couldn't believe what was currently happening to her. One day, she's hanging out with her friends at the coolest Grimm hunting academy in the world. The next, she's missing an arm, being threatened by her sweet little sister, and the woman she had been searching for since her childhood was eyeing her girlfriend! "I, uh… I gotta use the bathroom." With that, the blonde brawler pushed past her mother and left the room. She didn't even bother to wipe off the black lipstick marks all over her lips and neck.

Raven sighed. "I can't say I blame her. I just wish I could tell her _why _I had to leave."

Blake hugged herself out of discomfort. This isn't how she'd hoped to meet her girlfriend's mother. "She… she _does _want to talk to you. _Eventually, _but-"

"Have you met Taiyang, yet?" Raven interrupted.

"Um, I, uh… _no. _I haven't." Blake answered.

Raven looked out the window, towards the sea. Blake guessed she was looking in the general direction of Patch. "I used to give him _such _a hard time while we were in Team STRQ… but deep down, I had _so much _respect for him. I saw for myself how much of a _struggle _each day was for him. To go through _all that _and still smile... " Her eyes started to water, slightly. "A-and… and I _liked _him. _Really, _I did, but…"

Blake rested a hand on the woman's shoulder for comfort. "But what?"

Before she got an answer, the two of them heard a familiar scream. Glynda, Penny, and Summer held Ruby down as Team CFVY strapped her to the table. Paulette was now in complete control. "RELEASE ME, YOU INSOLENT WORMS!" She bellowed. "I swear by the gods of both light and darkness, I will _tear out _your spines and wear them as _necklaces! _I will record you screams of pain and agony as I grind your bones to powder, then listen to the recording on loop as a _lullaby!"_

"It might not seem like it right now, but this is for your _own good." _Glynda promised as she prepared the mind-dive device.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO RUBY?!" Weiss shouted. She was the first to arrive on the scene, followed shortly by Yang, Blake, and Raven. "Let her go!"

"Yes! Let me _go!" _Paulette snarled. "So that I may rip off your legs _and kick what's left of your asses with them!"_

"Guys, I know how this looks, but you _have _to trust us." Summer said. "I'm sure some of you have noticed Ruby's sudden change in behavior. How she's become more aggressive and angry."

_"I _have!" Yang replied. "But Weiss wouldn't _listen _to me!"

"Yang, there's a _fine line _between not _listening _and not _caring." _The Schnee heiress patted Yang's cheek in contempt. "When it comes to _you, _I like to think I walk that line _every day."_

"The point _is…" _Glynda pushed her glasses up and pointed to the machine. "We believe Ruby has come under the influence of a _malicious computer virus _that has infected her locator-chip. This virus - called 'Paulette' - negates a person's inhibitions and increases their rage. This machine will allow Ms. Polendina to enter her mind and _fight _this virus, directly."

Penny watched as Coco injected her best friend with a sedative. She felt miserable; she had just come back from the brink of death, and now she was about to lose her best friend. But she refused to allow that to happen. "Don't worry, Ruby." She whispered into her friend's ear. "Even in _cyber-space, _I am _combat-ready!"_

However, Weiss wasn't quite convinced. "If what you say is true, then let _me _go in with Penny." She offered. "No one knows Atlas tech better than me."

Summer rubbed her chin in thought. She could see that this girl cared for her daughter as more than just a teammate. "We _do _have a secondary inlet."

"Fine." Glynda conceded. "Miss Schnee, take a seat next to Penny."

Weiss nodded and took her seat across from the elaborate machine. Velvet fitted the duo with their headbands while Coco prepared the sedatives. "Now, when you go inside, Ruby's subconscious will seem very real to you both. Likely, it will resemble a place familiar to her. All you have to do is find this 'Paulette,' and _neutralize _it."

"We'll be fine. Now, send us in." Weiss insisted.

Coco shrugged and injected her friend with the sedative. Soon enough, Weiss' eyelids grew heavier, and she found herself falling into a deep slumber. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself and Penny standing in a potato patch on a rural farm. "Wow…" She gaped. "I wasn't expecting _this."_

"Well, in your defense, I doubt _anyone _would know what to expect when witnessing the abstract concept of thought up close." Penny replied.

"Huh? No, I meant… I wasn't expecting there to be this much _space _in here."

"Hi, Weiss!" The two huntresses in training nearly jumped out of their skin from shock. Standing behind them was Yang Xiao Long. "Knock-knock! Who's there?! Nobody _cares!"_

"Yang?" Weiss' eyebrow arched in confusion. "What're _you _doing in here?"

"Weiss, remember; we're inside Ruby's _mind." _Penny reminded her cohort. "This isn't _really _Yang. This is just Ruby's _mental image _of Yang."

"Man! I am _so _incredibly _stupid!" _Mental-Yang shouted, happily. "I think I'm so _funny, _but I'm _not! _I just tell stupid puns all day! Still, I _love _Ruby and Blake with all my heart!"

As if summoned, a mental image of Blake appeared out of nowhere. She was reading a book titled _"Ninjas of Love" _and drooling as her cat-like eyes dilated from arousal. "Oh, Yang, my love…" She licked her lips as her ears twitched. "I have a few new _ideas _for us regarding our _filthy deeds _together! _Take me, you fool!"_

Mental-Blake tackled Mental-Yang to the ground and began passionately making out with her. As Weiss recoiled in disgust, she turned to see Penny behind her. "Please, get me out of here." She begged.

"Oh, I would _love _to…" The green-clad android sighed, wistfully. Much to Weiss' surprise, Penny revealed a picture of Ruby encased in a heart-shaped frame. "But I'm waiting for my best friend to come here."

Weiss backed away as Penny proceeded to kiss the picture frame. "Penny, what's _wrong _with you?!"

"Uh, I'm over _here." _Penny tapped on Weiss' shoulder. "That's _Mental-Penny."_

"Oh, _great." _Weiss face-palmed. "That means _everyone _we meet in here is bound to be as _dumb _as Ruby."

Suddenly, a cloaked figure jumped down from the treetops. She took off her hood, revealing a chocolate-chip cookie in between her teeth. "I would not be so sure about that, Weiss." Mental-Ruby said.

"Oh, gods-dammit." Weiss slammed her forehead into the nearest tree out of sheer frustration.

**To Be Continued**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"I see…" Mental-Ruby rubbed her chin as Penny finished explaining the situation in the real world. "You're from the _outside. _That makes sense. The other one was, too."

"Other one?" Weiss finally stopped bashing her head against the tree to look back at the mental-projections. "You mean _Paulette?"_

"OF COURSE, SHE MEANS PAULETTE, YOU STUPID DOLT!" Suddenly, a young woman in white attire came into existence.

"Whoa!" Weiss took a step back with her hands raised in a calming manner. "Who are _you?"_

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHO AM I?!' I'M WEISS SCHNEE! I'M THE PRINCESS OF ATLAS AND TEAM RWBY'S _BEST _GIRL! AND I SECRETLY LOVE RUBY EVEN THOUGH I WON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD! SO YOU BETTER NOT TRY TO STEAL HER FROM ME, YOU STUPID PLEBIAN BITCHES!"

Weiss leaned over to the real Penny and whispered in her ear. "This girl's kinda _mean."_

Penny just rolled her eyes. "Yes. We've met." The android girl shook her head and looked back at Ruby's mental icon; trying her best not to blush as the mental image of herself kissed Ruby's cheek and held her hand. "Ahem, so Miss Rose, can you help us find Paulette?"

"Hmm. Well, I suggest we start with Teams JNPR and CFVY. She tried to turn them against me early on."

"Wait, Teams JNPR and CFVY are here, too?" Weiss looked around, expecting more mental images to pop up.

"NO! THEY'RE BACK AT BEACON, YOU IDIOT!" Weiss' mental copy screamed. "ONLY RUBY'S FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND STUPID ROBOT GIRLFRIENDS THAT I'M TOTALLY JEALOUS OF ARE ALLOWED IN PATCH! WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO VALE YOU DUMBASS!"

"Okay, there's _a lot _in that sentence that I didn't like." Weiss' gaze hardened.

"Well, maybe _now_ you know how _she_ feels roughly 70% of the time."

Weiss could only blink upon seeing what she could only assume was a mental image of a grungy older man occasionally taking sips from a flask. "What do you mean by that? Actually, scratch that: who are _you_ supposed to be?"

The mental image chuckled as he took a sip from his flask, which - even in the mind scape - carried the scent of alcohol. "Name's Qrow Branwen. I'm the runt's uncle, though she hasn't seen me in years. But she _knows_ I'll be coming back from my super secret mission someday, however, so it's no big deal. As for your question, did you know that the pipsqueak sends letters to her family back home?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "That's not…"

"Rhetorical question; I _know_ you know." Mental-Qrow retorted. "It's just obnoxious that the Ice Queen over there thinks she can yell at her on a semi-daily basis and _doesn't_ expect her to be telling her family about this sort of thing, hoping that they might have advice on how to deal with a teammate that… well, to be blunt, I don't care _what_ she's saying now; it's obvious that she _hates_ her."

Weiss felt like a knife had been stabbed into her chest upon hearing this. "...but she doesn't...no, _I_ don't hate her."

The mental image of Qrow just scoffed. "You respect her, or at least respect that Ozpin made her Team Leader, I'll give you that much. But for all her attempts to be your friend, can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me you gave her the same courtesy?"

Weiss made as to respond, only to pause, looking over at her mental image. "Is...is that _really_ how she sees me? As someone who yells at her 24/7?" Looking down in shame, unable to deny that as kind as Ruby was, she hadn't done the best job of returning that kindness. She glanced at the other mental images, now seeing them in a new light: Yang, being the kind of person to wear her heart on her sleeve and preferring the direct approach when it came to fighting - and just about everything else - likely wouldn't be _too_ upset to learn that her sister didn't focus too much on any sort of intelligence that she may or may not have (to say _nothing_ about the blonde brawler's sense of humor, or possible lack thereof). Blake, being the closed off type, honestly only _really_ opened up to Ruby's sister, Yang; so _of course_ the young scythe wielder would focus on the relationship between the two. Even Penny's obvious affection for her partner as her first real friend was almost perfectly reflected within the mental image she saw. Weiss could only sigh as she looked upon her mental image with a mixture of remorse and scorn. "I never realized how much it was possible to hate yourself until now."

Penny came over and patted her on the back. "For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure that she _knows_ that you're a good person deep down: she wouldn't keep 'you' close by if she didn't. And now that I think about it, that might be a sign that deep down, _she_ knows that _you_ care about _her_ as well. I mean, you heard what 'you' said; she's… _you're_ not willing to let _anyone_ hurt your partner."

"YOU'RE DARN RIGHT! I'M NOT LETTING THAT BITCH PAULETTE _NEAR_ MY WAIFU!" Mental-Wess declared, holding Mental-Ruby close.

Weiss let out a weak smile as she gave a resolute nod, making up her mind to apologize to Ruby in person once she got out of here. But first thing's first; "I can get behind that, but one thing still bugs me; how'd Paulette get in here in the first place?"

Mental-Ruby just scowled. "I don't know exactly when she arrived, but I _do_ know that she took advantage of my generosity. All she was _supposed_ to do was let me help her try and find her sisters and/or whoever took them. The harrassing of _my_ friends and family was _not_ part of the deal… but by the time I'd realized what she _really_ wanted, it was too late for me to stop her on my own."

"What _does_ she want then?" Penny inquired, choosing to file that bit about "sisters" away for later.

Mental-Penny frowned. "We don't know all the details just yet, but we _do_ know this: Paulette blames both Cinder Fall and Jacques Schnee for, quote, 'taking everything I ever cared about away from me...so I'm going to take everything away from _them.'_ End quote."

Weiss groans. "Of _course_ it all comes back to my father. Why am I not surprised?" She then blinked as it suddenly hit her. "Wait, 'everything Jacques Schee cares about'... does that include me?"

Mental-Blake shook her head. "Actually, from what we can tell, she intends to spare you. Something about you being, quote, 'just as much of a victim as her sister was.' End quote."

Weiss froze. "Wait, my sister? How does Paulette know Winter?!"

Mental-Yang snorted. "The same _season_ she knew Summer." She gave a chuckle as everyone else, mental image or no, gave a groan in response. Mental Yang just sighed once she'd stopped laughing at her own (bad) joke, "In all seriousness, we don't know. And frankly, I don't think it matters; she made my sister cry." She cracked her knuckles as she turned a scowl towards where Beacon was most likely located. "She's _not_ going to get away with that."

Weiss just nodded. "Agreed. While one could argue her intentions are pure, she's clearly letting her anger dictate her actions, with no mind for the consequences… or how they could affect _Ruby_ in the long run."

"What do you mean?" Mental-Ruby asked.

Weiss held up a spare dust vial in response. "If there's one thing that every huntress needs, no matter how skilled they are, it's the dust that they place in their weapons. And the Schnee Dust Company is the largest supplier of Dust on the planet. No Schnee Dust Company, no Dust. No Dust, no weapons. No weapons, no huntresses. No huntresses, no fulfilling the dream of one Ruby Rose. The problem is that destroying the SDC is a _guaranteed_ way to hurt Jacques Schnee, and if I'm right, _that_ is what Paulette plans to do regardless of how it affects her host. Especially since Cinder hasn't been heard from since her attack on Beacon and Jacques Schnee himself is almost never seen in public."

Penny just blinked. "Wait, how would she be able to do _that?"_

Weiss shook her head. "I can see her destroying a few outposts and working her way up, but beyond that, I don't know… but in the presence of a calming influence like _Ruby,_ who, for all her faults, has one of the most creative minds I've ever come across…"

Mental-Ruby seemed to pale as the pieces fit together in her mind. "...all this time, I was nothing but a tool to her."

Penny, despite knowing this wasn't the _real_ Ruby Rose, couldn't stop herself from giving the young girl in front of her a comforting hug. "I'm certain that it wasn't _all_ a lie. That she _did_ care about you in her own way. But I think that Weiss might have hit the proverbial nail on the head; Paulette _never _gave any thought as to what she'd do once she'd gotten her revenge. Meanwhile I'm guessing that _you_ had _every_ intention of trying to give her back the family she'd lost by making her a part of _yours_ once you had gotten _justice_ for her fallen sisters."

Mental-Ruby just nodded. "She said that we'd see each other as sisters sooner then I'd anticipated, and she was right...but that just means I have even _more_ of a reason to stop her. Come on, we're going to save Paulette from herself."

"Wonderful! Then let us begin our quest!" Mental-Penny exclaimed as she happily jumped into Mental-Ruby's arms and continued kissing her. But before the group set off, the android's doppelganger leaned over to whisper at Weiss. "By the way, I'm secretly a _robot _with a _soul. _Shh… no one can know except my beloved Ruby!"

"Oh, _gods…" _Weiss grumbled.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Sage Ayana - a student of Shade Academy - was enjoying the night sky as he walked just beyond the school's campus. Unfortunately, he was so enticed by the starry canvas above Vacuo, he failed to notice the scorpion-Faunus sneaking up from behind. However, he was soon made painfully aware of his stalker's presence as a sharp blade came up to his neck while the barrel of a gun poked his back. "Hello, _friend!" _A voice cackled before the student's world went black.

A few minutes later, the student woke up to find his limbs tied up and a poison-tipped tail in his face. Tyrian Callows - better known these days as "Agent Black" - had been hired to infiltrate Shade Academy and take out the headmaster. But much to the scorpion's dismay, said headmaster was nowhere in the building. Thus, he saw fit to interrogate one of the students for the information he needed. "Alright, my boy, here's how this works: I ask you a _question _and I expect to hear an _answer_. One question, one answer. If I get an answer I _don't like, _we've got a _problem. _And by that, I mean _you've _got a problem. Understand?"

"Y-yes!" Sage nodded, shakily.

"Wonderful! First question; where is the headma-?" Tyrian's wicked smile disappeared as he was interrupted by his scroll's ringtone. With his tail still aimed at the helpless huntsman-to-be, Agent Black checked his scroll to see who was calling. His grin slowly crept back once he saw that it was an old client. "Hello, madam! Hmm? No, nothing _important. _To what do I owe the pleasure…? Beacon, eh? Alright. The usual fee? Excellent, I'll be there within two days!"

With that, Tyrian hung up his scroll and turned back to his captive. "Well, chap, sorry to say that I _won't _have time to torture you."

Sage sighed in relief just before the poisoned tail stabbed him through the heart. The venom spreading through his veins, Sage could only choke out one final word; "Why…?"

Tyrian leaned down to whisper in the boy's ear. "Because… it's _in my nature."_

Back at Beacon, Ciel Sieol was beginning to wake up from Penny's temporary possession of her body. "Quelle? Qu'est-il arrivé? (What? What happened?)" She asked, groggily. She tried to sit up, but four arms quickly pushed her back down onto the bed.

"Take it easy, girl." Jean insisted. "You're still recovering."

"Récupération? Récupération de quoi ...? Et pourquoi ne puis-je pas parler Anglais? (Recovering? Recovering from what…? And why can't I speak English?)"

"What did she say?" Rachael looked back at her medical friend.

"I thought _you _were supposed to study the French-English dictionary?" Jean replied.

"Les gars! Qu'est-ce qu'il m'est arrivé?! (Guys! What happened to me?!)" Ciel growled. "Et _pourquoi _ne puis-je pas parler Anglais?! (And _why _can't I speak English?!)"

"Uh, right." Jean brushed her hair from her eyes. "You don't need to speak French to understand that. Well, first of all, Penny's _alive. _And second, her... _robot ghost, _or whatever, took over your body for a little while by accessing your locator chip."

Ciel gasped in surprise. "Sérieusement? Penny est _vivante?_ (Seriously? Penny's _alive?_)"

"Which brings us to the _problem." _Jean sighed. "It seems that by invading your locator's circuitry, Penny somehow scrambled your brain a little. Particularly, the part that manages your _speech. _But _don't worry, _you're in good hands! I've already asked one of the teachers here to provide me with the proper tools I'll need to help you!"

As if on cue, Jaune Arc stepped into the room, holding a tray of medical implements. "Here." He said, trying not to look directly at Jean.

"Not so fast, Mr. Arc!" Dr. Oobleck suddenly appeared in the room, much to everyone's surprise. "Ms. Purple! I have read your transcripts and I must say I am _horrified! _You are barely at an average grade-level, only just doing well enough to pass! And yet you believe that you are suited to perform _surgery?! _Not only is this a direct violation of your school's code of conduct, but it puts your partner's life in _jeopardy! _Mr. Arc, take those medical tools _back! _I will contact your school and inform them of your misdemeanor, where they will proceed to discuss your suspension, and possible _expulsion _from Team CPPR!"

"No, wait, I can explain!" Jean tried to defend herself, but it was too late; Dr. Oobleck zipped away to call General Ironwood. Jaune just shrugged and began to walk back. "Oh, c'mon, Jaune! _Buddy! _Help a friend out?"

Jaune turned back with a deadpan expression. _"Sorry." _He said. "But it's pretty clear that you're not exactly _popular _with the teachers here. And If I wanna get ahead anywhere, I can't be seen directly associated with you. I'm sure you understand."

Ciel's eyebrow arched as Jaune walked away. "Quel est _son _problème? (What's _his _problem?)"

"Simple petite vengeance, mon ami (Simple petty vengeance, my friend)," a newly arrived Velvet declared with a smirk.

Rachael joined Ciel in a shocked blink. "Wait… you speak French?!"

The rabbit Faunus gave a shrug. "One of the _many_ skills I've picked up in an effort to keep the White Fang off my trail once their methods turned violent. No _way_ was I helping them kill innocent people. Anyways, I just came by to let Jean know that she shouldn't start preparing for the surgery until the teachers have given their approval and/or an actual doctor shows up to oversee things… and I showed up too late to give the warning, didn't I?" Velvet remarked, adding a sigh with that last bit, noticing the nervous expressions her fellow students were giving.

"Juste un petit peu. (Just a little bit.)" Ciel declared with a slight chuckle, feeling just a little bit better now that she had someone to talk to without needing a translator, to say _nothing_ about how relieving it was to know that Penny wasn't dead after all. "Alors, où _est_ Penny? (So, where _is _Penny?)"

Velvet rubbed the back of her neck, nervously. "Well… it's _complicated."_

As the rabbit Faunus explained the current situation, the rest of Team CFVY made their way into the medical ward where Ruby, Penny, and Weiss were hooked up to the mind-dive device. Yang was nervously bouncing on her heels in anticipation; all while Blake rubbed her hand in an effort to keep her calm. "I just wish there was a way to see what was going on in there." Yang bit her lip.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Blake promised, soothingly. "It's only been a few minutes."

"But what if Paulette takes her over while they're in there?" Yang reasoned. "Not only could we lose Ruby for good, but then we'd have to deal with a violent evil Ruby."

"Not likely." Glynda replied. "Even _if _the sedatives weren't enough, those straps are designed to hold a person _five times _Ms. Rose's size."

Coco pushed her sunglasses down, slightly. After a quick whistle, the fashionista turned to her teacher. "Uh, Ms. Goodwitch? Could those straps hold down, say… a _seven foot tall _huntsman while two huntresses have their way with him? Asking for a friend."

Yatsuhashi pulled Coco away from Glynda. "Time and place, Coco." He said. "Time and place."

Meanwhile, back inside Ruby's mind, Weiss and Penny had arrived at the imaginary school of Beacon. Weiss looked to her side, irritated to find her doppelganger glaring at her. "Ugh, _why _am I partnered up with _you?"_

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU TO TRY AND STEAL MY WAIFU FROM ME! BAD ENOUGH I HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THE _SUPER-SECRET ROBOT_ GETTING ALL THE SMOOCHES!"

"Gods, why me…?" Weiss facepalmed once more.

"Don't worry, Weiss." Penny reassured her. "We should be getting close to finding Paulette."

Mental-Weiss used her own Myrtenaster to create a glyph that levitated her a few feet into the air. "ATTENTION, TEAMS JNPR AND CFVY!" She announced. "THE GREAT AND BEAUTIFUL RUBY ROSE DEMANDS YOUR PRESENCE! SO MAKE YOURSELVES SEEN YOU WORTHLESS BLOWJOBBING PHILISTINES!"

"Ruby?! She's here?! BLEAUGH! Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm just so happy to see her!" A sickly-looking image of Jaune Arc, dressed in orange, vomited into existence. "Oh, hi, Weiss… will you go out with me?"

"Is she in trouble?! Don't worry! I'll protect her!" Now, an image of Pyrrha Nikos - who seemed to be juggling her sword and shield - showed up. "But not before I hide my true feelings for my leader!"

"I am a leaf on the wind… I can never say much without revealing _too much. _Therefore, I say almost _nothing…" _Soon enough, an image of Lie Ren wearing a ninja mask joined his teammates. "That is unless one of my friends is about to do something _stupid. _Then I will _immediately _take action to prevent them from doing it."

"Nora hungry! Nora smash!" The pink-clad huntress was the next to appear as she waved Magnihild around. "Ren! Make me pancakes! I _need _pancakes!"

Following Team JNPR, Team CFVY's members slowly made themselves visible. The first being Coco Adel, herself.

"Well, it looks as if the little strawberry is in need of our assistance!" She said. "Now, I'm going to say a bunch of weird things while laughing, which I think means I'm making fun of Ruby for that time we scared her about how I have a girlfriend _and _a boyfriend!"

"I am big and strong, but I am also sweet and nice." Mental-Yatsuhashi declared before drawing his sword. "But if you hurt my friends, you will _die _by my blade!"

"I can't see, but I _can! _I'm not sure _how, _but it's totally a believable reason!" Mental-Fox pumped his fists in the air.

"I certainly love having Ruby over in our room for a spell!" Mental-Velvet spoke with a cockney accent. "She helps me with me weapon that even _I _don't know nothing about! By the way, I have an Australian accent!"

"Greetings, my friends!" Mental-Ruby stood up on Mental-Weiss' glyph as she spoke to the others. "I apologize for my late visit, but there is an urgent matter to discuss!"

"Okay, _hold on!" _The real Weiss had finally reached her limit. "That is _it! _I can't take this anymore!"

"Weiss, what are you _doing?!" _Penny scolded.

"No! I have to set a few things straight." The heiress pointed to her counterpart first. "First of all; _you. _Ruby is _not _your 'waifu.' You don't _have _anyone romantically involved with you. Why? Because you don't _need _one! You're a _Schnee! _You can't risk bringing anyone else into that horrorshow of a family!"

"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID BITCH!"

"And Ruby. Come _on. _Do you _ever _pay attention? Jaune's armor is _yellow, _not _orange. _And Pyrrha is _not_ that open with her semblance! And you _know _that Fox uses the latest Atlesian sensory technology to help him see!"

"I do? That sounds like a _cop-out." _Mental-Fox rubbed his chin.

"Oy, what's got this girl's knickers in a twist?" Mental-Velvet asked, pointing at Weiss.

"And that is _not _an Australian accent!"

"Calm _down, _Ms. Waifu!" Mental-Jaune shouted before throwing up again.

"HEY! _SHE'S _NOT THE WAIFU! _I _AM!" Just then, a blast of ice dust went straight through Mental-Weiss' head, causing her to collapse to the ground.

"Oh, my gods! Weiss?! Are you okay?!" Weiss asked as her counterpart stood back up.

"OH, PLEASE! THAT PHILISTINE COULDN'T HIT ME IF SHE TRIED!" Mental-Weiss scoffed before touching the hole in her head that had taken her eye. "NO, WAIT. YEAH, I'M DEAD. HURK! BLERGH!"

As the mental image of Weiss faded away, Penny had traced the trajectory of the blast and saw a dark figure cloaked in a smokey black aura. "There she is! It's Paulette!"

"MWAHAHAHAHA! You pitiful fools!" Paulette laughed. _"Nothing _will stand in the way of my revenge!"

**To Be Continued**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"There's Paulette! _After _her!" Penny ran off as fast as she could in pursuit of the sinister virus.

"MWAHAHAHAHA! You'll _never _catch me!" Paulette remarked.

"Come on, Ruby! We have to-!" Weiss tried to drag the Mental-Ruby along with her, but the imaginary huntress wouldn't budge.

"I'm sorry, do I _know _you?"

Weiss growled, very nearly declaring how much of a dolt Ruby was for not recognizing her...only to freeze as her eyes landed on the spot where her mental image - Ruby's _memory_ of her - was no longer standing. A chill ran down the heiress' spine as she realized that _this_ had been Paulette's plan all along. If Ruby no longer remembered even _one_ of her friends or family members, she'd have less of a reason to resist the rogue computer program's influence. "Ruby, it...it's _me._ Weiss. Weiss Schnee. You know? Your friend? Your partner?" she nervously asked, feeling a mixture of panic, guilt, and fear upon realizing the very real possibility that the girl in front of her genuinely did not remember her.

Said fears were proven all too true as Mental-Ruby just tilted her head in confusion, and perhaps a little frustration. "I'm sorry; we're _friends?_ Even though this is the first time I've ever _seen_ you? You _really_ expect me to believe that?"

Weiss couldn't help the tears that appeared in her eyes, feeling like a knife had pierced her heart, before shaking her head. "No, I suppose not. You were a _great_ friend to _me,_ but I always took you for granted. No apology I could give you would even come _close_ to expressing how _sorry_ I am for not treating you like the friend, the _partner_ that you deserved. For losing my temper and giving Paulette the opening she needed to hurt you, to damage your memories. For breaking my promise," she declared, recalling a certain night not so long ago when she'd begun to see the girl in front of her in a new light with a teary-eyed frown. She then gained a steely expression, realizing the time for repairing her bond with Ruby would have to come later. "...but that isn't important right now. I'm sure you've noticed that something feels… _off_ about your little mindscape - about your _memories."_ No words could describe the amount of relief she felt at the look of confusion and/or curiosity that filled Mental-Ruby's eyes upon hearing those words even as she pointed in the direction that Penny and Paulette had run off in. "Penny is currently chasing after the one who took something from said memories. Do you think you could stand to help her? To help _us _to stop Paulette here and now?"

Mental-Penny just huffed. "But how can I be chasing _anyone_ when I'm standing right here?!"

Weiss sighed, then nodded. "Yes, you are, and if you...if _any_ of you were able to remember the explanation the two of us gave you earlier, you'd know _why_ there are suddenly _two_ Pennys running about. Look I don't have time to explain, and I _know_ you have no reason to trust me right now, but _please do_ when I tell you that if you don't want Paulette killing all your friends and loved ones, we need to go _now."_

Mental-Ruby stared at her for a few moments, before slowly gaining a small smile. "It's weird; I've just met you, and yet, I feel like I could trust you with my _life."_

Weiss gave a resolute nod, not _quite_ registering the resigned/relieved smile that graced her features. "Believe me when I say that I'd rather _die_ and have you forget me forever than let _anything_ happen to _you,_ Ruby Rose."

Mental-Ruby shook her head in amusement before gaining a determined grin, "I won't let it come to that...'Weiss,' was it? If you're talking about the same 'Paulette' that I _think_ you're talking about, then you're right: we _do_ need to stop her sooner rather than later. That said, if you want to help out in that regard, I won't stop you. I don't know what it is, exactly, but something tells me that you and I are going to be _great_ friends."

Weiss just gave a tear-filled smile. "I certainly hope so." She watched as Mental-Ruby gathered everyone for an assault on Paulette with a resigned sigh. "Even when I'm practically a complete stranger to you, somehow you have enough optimism and kindness in you to want to trust and protect me. You really _are_ something else, Ruby Rose." Before she moved to follow her best friend and partner, however, she turned towards where Mental Weiss once stood with a solemn nod. "I promise: I'll keep Ruby safe. I still need to give her the kindness that she deserves...and to make sure Paulette regrets _ever_ having messed with _Weiss Schnee."_ she declared, gaining a steely expression with that last bit.

Back in the real world, Yang was growing more impatient. The blonde brawler had resorted to punching the wall to pass the time, much to her teacher's annoyance. "Miss Xiao Long." Glynda spoke evenly, with just a hint of venom in her tone. "If you are so eager to vent your frustrations, we have a new mission. We've gotten reports of a new type of Grimm near Kuroyuri, and we need someone to investigate."

"I'm not going _anywhere _until I know that my sister is alright!" Yang snapped back. "It's been _three hours!"_

"I can assure you, your sister is in good hands." Glynda promised. "These things just _take time. _I will tell you when there are any new developments."

"Like how when you told us Penny was a secret Atlas robot?" Yang retorted, sarcastically. "Or when you told us Cinder was a criminal? I don't think your word is good enough for us anymore."

Glynda could only watch as the student walked away in anger. Truth be told, the dominatrix huntress was growing weary of all the secrecy, herself. Then again, what was she supposed to expect from a life of clandestine organizations? "You two watch over them." She told Ciel and Rachael. "I'm going to call Professor Ozpin."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oui, m'dame."

"Wait… where's your _'medic' _friend?"

Outside the school, Jean Purple was busy trying to call General Ironwood to smooth out the possible destruction of her career. But after she had stepped outside to clear her head, she ended up stumbling onto a remarkable discovery inside one of the caves in the Emerald Forest. Thinking this discovery would give her a chance to redeem herself, she immediately called Sally. "Hello, Sally? I need to speak to General Ironwood."

"Hello, dude. Sorry, dude." Sally replied. "I'm afraid General Ironwood is preoccupied at this time."

"Well, can you tell him I called?" Jean asked, urgently. "I found a… uh… it's, uh…"

"A _what, _dude? I haven't got _all day."_

"Well, it's hard to describe." Jean rubbed her chin as she circled around the strange vehicle. "It's like… it kinda looks like a _Grimm thing. _A purple Grimm thing."

"Oh, wow, dude. That _is _urgent. Let me whip out my dictionary of _'purple Grimm things.' _General Ironwood will be so proud."

"But, I just-!"

"Gotta go, dude. Lots of things to do and huntsman/huntresses to call, y'know? Later gator."

With that, the Atlesian secretary hung up, leaving Jean most agitated. "Man! If it's not _Ciel, _it's _Jaune_, or the _teachers_, or _Sally! _Next time she calls me back, I'm gonna tell her to go straight to H-E-double hockey sticks!" She kicked the dirt out of frustration before leaning against the bizarre vehicle with a guilty expression. "Aw, geez. I really shouldn't talk like that."

Back inside Ruby's mind, Weiss and Penny had finally caught up to Paulette. "Alright, you nasty virus! Your time is _up!" _Weiss declared, proudly. "From now on, the only person who gives Ruby Rose headaches is _me!"_

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Both the real and imaginary Penny's gushed in unison.

"Oh, come off it." Weiss blushed.

Paulette just growled. "I'll deal with _you two_ later," he directed and Penny and Weiss with a scowl before turning towards Mental-Ruby. Here, however, she suddenly gained a smug smile. "As for _you,_ Ruby Rose, I _must_ say I'm surprised. I could understand you following _Penny_ into battle against me, as foolish a notion as it is, but I know for a fact that you don't even _know_ her companion, as this would be the first time you'd have even met each other. Why do you align with _her_ against _me?_ Doing so certainly flies in the face of our little deal, don't you think?"

"Deal? _What_ deal?"

Weiss couldn't help but relish in the shocked expression Paulette gained upon hearing those words from Mental-Ruby's mouth. "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess what the deal you made with my partner, my _friend,_ was, Paulette: you would keep her friends and family safe and in return _she_ would aid _you_ in your endeavors. Well, if that's the case, you broke your own little contract the moment that _you_ killed off the _memory_ of one of her friends."

Mental-Ruby nodded. "I couldn't have said it better myself. While my memory is honestly a bit hazy at the moment, I _do_ recall you saying something along the lines of planning on sparring a certain someone I was friends with: someone whom I no longer remember the name of. Between that and the fact that I recall you being not so nice to _my sister_ leads me to believe that you might have had a hand in that gap in my memory, and if you so casually killed off my memory of said person then the question of exactly how safe _the rest_ of my friends and family would be with you around _must_ be asked. In short, _sis,_ the deal's off, and I'm going to _take you down."_

Paulette stood stock still upon hearing those words, before slowly but surely gaining a maniac laugh. "'Take me down?!' Foolish girl: you have no idea who you're messing with...or how much control of your own mind I've already taken from you. While I'll admit that our time together was enjoyable, all good things must end eventually. Goodbye, Ruby Rose."

Weiss felt a chill run down her spine as those words reached her ears...even more so when she saw a mental projection of the tank that Beacon had turned it's turret towards her partner. Before she could make a move, however, she saw that Paulette was just standing there with a smug expression, leaving herself wide open to be taken down. Had she still been the same Weiss she was before coming to Beacon, she wouldn't hesitate to take the rogue computer program down and eliminate the threat in front of her...but now the _new_ Weiss, the one who had become Ruby's friend and partner, was faced with a choice: kill the one who had insulted the Schnee name, _her_ name, or save the seemingly insignificant girl who had somehow made it into Beacon two years earlier than _her. _She clenched her fist as a single thought coursed through her head: "My choice is clear."

Mental-Ruby wasn't sure what happened: one minute, she was staring down the barrel of a tank, and the next, that "Weiss" character was pushing her out of the way and taking the shot meant for _her._ "NO!" she yelled out in more emotion then she was expecting, before running over and cradling the girl in her arms. _"Why?"_ she couldn't help but ask, tears flowing freely, "We only just met a few moments ago. Why would you…?

Weiss just gave a bitter chuckle even as she held her ribs with a wince: despite how the tank had managed to shatter her aura, there was a good chance she'd survive this if they were able to take down Paulette...but even if she didn't… "It might have been just a few moments ago for _you,_ but believe me when I say that I've known _you_ for _much_ longer. Long enough to know that this is the _least_ that I owe you for everything you've done for me. Besides, it's like I told you before: I'd rather _die_ than let _anything_ happen to _you. _And hey, if worse comes to worse, if I _did_ die, I could do so knowing with certainty that I kept my promise to keep you safe. To be a better person. To be the _best_ teammate you'd ever had."

"_Just know that I am going to be the best teammate you'll _ever_ have."_

Mental-Ruby silently gasped as those words echoed through her mind, feeling like something from a dream, or perhaps a dream of a dream, and yet somehow feeling all too real. She teared up a little as she gave a smile to the girl she had just met. She then shook her head as she realized that statement wasn't completely accurate." "It's not supposed to be a competition, and besides, _I_ already told _you_ that I wouldn't let it come to that… _my friend."_

The Schnee heiress blinked in shock and happiness, noticing a spark of recognition in Ruby's silver eyes. "'Friend?' Wait, Ruby, does that mean that you…?"

Mental-Ruby shook her head. "It's all a bit fuzzy, actually, and honestly, I'm still not sure that any of the stuff I _do_ recall is even _real._ That said, and this might seem like a strange question, even to me, but I need to ask: does this mean that you _don't_ hate me?"

Weiss could only shake her head as tears of both joy and sadness streamed down her cheeks. Like Ruby said, the memories weren't complete, but they were there, and she had been given a chance to help her make some new ones. That said... "I won't lie: once upon a time, that sentiment might not have been _too_ far off the mark...but having gotten to know you, I can honestly say that you are, without a doubt, one of _the_ most important people in my life, Ruby Rose. Honestly, Atlas would've felt a lot less _cold_ if I had someone like _you_ there while I was growing up."

"Pfft, a bit sappy for my tastes, but a sentiment that even a Princess of Atlas such as myself could agree upon nonetheless."

Weiss could only join Mental-Ruby in gasping as Mental-Weiss appeared before them again, looking a bit more calm and, dare she say it, _regal_ then she had previously. The Schnee heiress could only nod as Mental-Ruby squealed and glomp-tackled her mental image. "So, did I do a good job of protecting her?" she felt the need to ask "herself."

Mental-Weiss could only scoff even as she returned the embrace with a roll of her eyes. "You ask that like you don't already know." She gave her a kind smile as she broke the embrace, before giving "herself" a grateful bow. "I thank you for looking after my future consort, other me."

Weiss could only give a good natured roll of her eyes, even as she blushed as she realized that, while Ruby's mental image of her had changed, Ruby herself was still as silly and doltish as ever. Still, she reflected as she returned the bow, she supposed that she wouldn't have it any other way. "I'm certain you'd do the same, your grace," she couldn't help but remark.

"YOU'RE DARN RIGHT! I'D NEVER LET THAT BITCH PAULETTE _NEAR_ MY WAIFU!" Mental-Weiss shouted, giving "herself" a wink as she did.

Paulette could only stare in shock, even as Weiss joined Mental Ruby and her own mental projection in a laugh. "This...this isn't possible."

"Of _course_ you'd think that," Penny declared as she approached the rogue computer program. "You were _so_ focused on achieving your revenge, on trying to force Ruby to feel the same rage as _you,_ that you never stopped to ask yourself why Weiss and I came here in the first place, why Ruby went after Cinder Fall in the first place...and _no:_ it _wasn't_ because you forced her to. Deep down, you know as well as I do that Ruby Rose would have gone after her with or without you. That it was her _love_ for her friends and family that drove her forward, not her _anger_ at Cinder."

Paulette could only shake in frustration and anger even as Penny approached her without an _ounce_ of fear on her face. _"Why?"_ she growled, "Why aren't you _afraid?_ You _know_ what I'm capable of: there's no reason for you to risk your life like this!"

"Is _that_ what you think?" Penny said with a scoff, "I can't help but pity you: you just don't get it. Weiss and I didn't come for some cheap thrill. We weren't fighting for _ourselves._ We were fighting for Ruby, for Yang, for Blake, for _all_ of our friends, and that's something you'll _never_ understand, you _malicious malware!"_ Quickly closing the gap between them, she slammed an item she'd been carrying with her onto Paulette's chest before declaring, "It's the _very_ thing that makes us _human."_

Paulette just forced Penny off of her with a snarl. "Don't give me that crap. You aren't even…" Whatever insult the rogue computer program was going to make was suddenly cut short by her crying out in surprise, falling to her knees and holding her chest in pain. "What's happening?!"

"You're right about _one_ thing, Paulette. I'm not a _normal girl_ by _any_ stretch of the imagination. Any humanity I have now I owe to my father, Dr. Pietro Polendina, and my best friend, Ruby Rose, the latter of whom _you_ tried to force out of her own body and mind...a course of action a certain instructor we know felt appropriate to turn against you." Penny just gave a smug smile as Paulette looked up at her in shock. "Glynda Goodwich sends her regards, btw."

Paulette just snarled. "So _that's_ the way you want to play it, huh? Fine. There's more than _one_ way to skin a cat."

Mental-Yang just glared at the unwelcome guest even as she held Mental-Blake close by. "Go ahead and _try it,_ punk!"

Mental-Blake just rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Pretty sure that's _not_ what she meant, darling."

Still, despite everything, Mental-Ruby couldn't help but give Paulette a look of compassion. "Paulette, I meant what I said. I want to help you get justice for your sisters."

Even through the pain she was enduring due to the malware Miss Goodwich had provided for Weiss and Penny, Paulette couldn't help but give Mental-Ruby a reserved smile. "I know. You're a good kid, Ruby...though that's not too much of a surprise, given that you _are_ Summer's daughter. But this isn't one of those fairy tales that your family read to you as a child; this is a _war,_ and I intend to win it. That said, I really _did_ enjoy our time together, so be assured that when the time comes, I'll shall repay your kindness by making your death as quick and painless as possible. Until then, however, farewell...sister." With that, Paulette vanished, a small disk landing on the ground as she did.

Mental-Ruby just collapsed to her knees, tears streaming from her eyes. "I...I couldn't save her."

Weiss, despite knowing that this wasn't the _real_ Ruby, couldn't stop herself from scoping up the young girl into her arms. "The thing is, I don't think she _wanted_ to be saved. You did your best though, and you can take comfort in the fact that it's all over now."

"I wouldn't be too sure," Penny said with a frown, the disk from earlier in her hands. "The malware containment unit Miss Goodwich gave me isn't registering having caught anything. She might not be _here_ anymore, but it's clear to me that she's not _gone_ just yet."

Mental-Ruby rubbed her chin in thought, "Paulette _did_ say that she considered this a war. You think she might have a 'plan b' lying around somewhere?"

Weiss gave a steely expression in response, "I'm thinking that maybe Penny and I should head back to Beacon and wake you up so that we can find out."

Mental-Ruby nodded, "Fair enough, but before you go…" And that was all the warning Weiss got before getting a hug from the girl in front of her. "I know that this is all happening in my head, but that doesn't make it any less real, right?"

Weiss just shook her head in amusement even as she returned the embrace. "No, I suppose it doesn't," she replied, surprising Mental-Ruby, Penny and even _herself_ when she laid a quick peck on the young girl's forehead, before gaining a glare. "_This_... never happened."

Mental-Penny just shared a sly grin with her real world counterpart. "Suuure, it didn't."

Penny just chuckled as she and Weiss, currently trying to suppress a blush, prepared to return to the real world, but not before giving Weiss a look of concern. "You took quite a hit back there; are you going to be okay?"

Weiss paused in thought, watching as her mental projection stared with jealousy as Mental-Penny showered Mental-Ruby with kisses, only for the latter to gesture for Mental-Weiss to sit with them with some slight hesitation. She nodded as her mental projection snuggled up to the girl, knowing that despite some setbacks, she was on the fast track to _truly_ becoming close with one of the brightest souls in all of Beacon...scratch that, in all of Remnant. She allowed herself a small grin even as she and Penny prepared to exit the mindscape. "It'll take some time, but yes: I think I'll be _just_ fine."

The Schnee heiress was the last of the trio to wake up. Yang and Blake were ready to help her up, as the process left her in a temporary daze. When her vision finally cleared, she saw Penny and Ruby talking on the other side of the room. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but Penny had her hands behind her back as she nervously drew circles on the floor with her left foot. Weiss finally realized that the android was capitalizing on her discoveries inside Ruby's mind. Specifically, how the hooded huntress felt about her. At last, Ruby smiled, kissed Penny's nose, and led her best friend outside with the robot's hand in hers. Weiss crossed her arms and huffed, an act that did not go unnoticed by Yang.

"What's the matter, Weiss?" She snickered. "Feeling some… _jealous-SCHNEE?"_

Blake rolled her eyes before flashing Weiss a sympathetic smile. "Penny explained everything to us. She woke up first, then Ruby followed five minutes later. I'm sorry… she remembers _feelings, _but she still doesn't quite remember… _you."_

"It's fine." Weiss sighed. "At least now, I know I can make a better impression."

"I hate to interrupt, but we have a _problem." _Glynda stepped up. "Ms. Polendina has informed me that the malware containment unit didn't capture Paulette. We are certain that she is no longer inside Ms. Rose's mind, but that doesn't mean that she didn't infect another."

"Oh, _great." _Yang grumbled. "Well, how are we going to find her _now?"_

Meanwhile, back in the cave, Jean Purple woke up to the sound of her scrolls ringtone. As she massaged her temples to treat the worst headache of her life, she saw that she has three missed calls from Sally. "Ugh, hello?"

"Hey, dude, what's up? How ya feelin'?"

"Sally? What happened?"

"Hey, your guess is as good as _mine, _dude. One minute, I'm trying to give you an update on General Ironwood. The next, you're talking in a scary voice threatening to kill my kids."

"I _did?" _Jean felt guilty. "Oh, geez. I'm sorry, Sally."

"Hey, no problem, dude. Don't _have _any kids, anyway." Sally smiled. "Baby factory has been closed for a _long time now,_ if you get my meaning."

"Uh, okay. I-"

"I got the _operation_ that limits _population,_ now I can enjoy _more copulation."_

"Sally, I don't need to hear this-"

"They can check _in,_ but nothing checks _out,_ if you know what I'm saying."

"This is getting _gross-"_

"I got my tubes tied, dude."

"Okay, _stop!" _Jean gagged. "You mentioned General Ironwood. What did he _say?"_

"Oh, right, of course, dude." Sally cleared her throat. "He said he was not to be disturbed for the next few days. That is all. Bye."

"Wait, no! Don't hang up-!" After Sally hung up, Jean screamed in fury. "What does it _take _to get some respect around here?!" Suddenly, her eyes changed from purple to black. _"I'll _tell you how; you kill those that scorn you, and _bathe _in their blood!" Jean shook her head, changing her eye color back to normal. "Wait, what? That doesn't sound right."

**To Be Continued**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Look, I know that I said I was _upset…" _Jean rubbed her neck, nervously. "But I just think it would be better if we solved our problems in a _non-violent _fashion-"

"I _agree!" _Paulette cackled inside the medic's mind. "Only replace the word _'non' _with _'extremely' _and follow the word _'violent' _with _'explosive genocidal bloodbath!' _MWAHAHAHAHA!"

Jean Purple had no idea what she had done to deserve this. The voice left a pounding headache with each dreadful word. "No! Stop!" She begged. "I don't wanna _hurt _anyone!"

"We will devour their hearts and crap out their souls!"

"But I'm a vegetarian!"

If the girl wasn't too busy arguing with herself, she might have noticed Fox Alistair walking up to the cave's entrance. "Hmph. _Pink, _they say." He grumbled. "I'd bet my bottom lien that it _is _lightish red. Huh?" The blind huntsman's enhanced hearing had picked up a young woman's voice, and he decided to investigate. His Atlesian sight-device allowed him to visualize a silhouette, but he couldn't make out any specific features. Nevertheless, Fox rubbed his chin as he continued to listen. "Hmm…five feet-seven…echoes of the footsteps indicate she's somewhere between _one-hundred fifty _and _one-hundred eighty _pounds…one of Team CCPR's girls, maybe...but who is she _talking _to?"

Meanwhile, Raven finally managed to get Yang to stay with her long enough to have a meaningful conversation. The older woman decided that it was time for both of them to stop running from their problems and face them head-on. "Yang, you _have _to believe me, I didn't _want _to leave. I only did it to _protect _you."

Yang scoffed. "Yeah?! Well, you did a _fantastic _job! Dad's condition is getting _worse _every day! I nearly got Ruby _killed _looking for you! My fucking _school _almost got destroyed! And in case you didn't notice, I recently became _left-handed! _If you _really _cared, why didn't you come back-?!"

"I _loved _you and your father, Yang!" Raven shouted in despair. "I couldn't _stand _the thought of putting either of you in danger!"

"_What _danger?!" Yang demanded. "What are you so afraid of, that you'd run away?! _You! _One of the _toughest _huntresses to graduate from Beacon! What were _you _afraid was gonna happen that you couldn't prevent?!"

Raven fell silent. Checking their surroundings to make sure no one was listening in, she dragged her daughter to a secluded corner of the room and took a deep breath. "Alright. What I'm about to tell you can _not _be shared with anyone else. Not even _Ruby."_

"Oh, _this _ought to be a good excuse." Yang snorted, arrogantly, as she crossed her arms.

"Okay… I'm the Spring Maiden."

"..._come again?" _Yang's expression was less angry, now. But more confused.

"A few months after you were born, I went on a routine assignment." Raven explained. "It was just supposed to be a simple task; kill the Grimm, save the people, go home. But while I was there, I ran into a woman who was taking advantage of a neighboring village. She had some kind of…_supernatural _powers. At first, I thought it was her _semblance, _but it wasn't like _anything _I'd ever seen before. She was controlling _fire, wind, ice, _and _lightning _all at once! She attacked without provocation, so I retaliated. It took _all _my strength, but I managed to put her down."

"What does that have to do with you not coming home?"

"Because after I killed her, something _weird _happened." Raven went on. "I began to develop the same elemental powers the woman had. After a talk with Ozpin, he told me that I had inherited the Spring Maidens powers, and warned me that others would seek it out for themselves. If I had stayed behind, anyone who sought the Maiden's power would try to use _you _to get to me! I couldn't _do _that to you!"

"Oh, _bullshit!" _Yang snapped. "You'd come up with _any _excuse to justify-"

"YANG!" Raven smashed her fist against the wall, causing bursts of flames and frost to surround them. Yang nearly jumped out of her skin as she looked into her mother's glowing eyes. Raven growled from frustration, but managed to restrain herself. "I'm _not _lying."

"Holy shit…" Yang breathed, shakily. After a few more minutes of awkward silence, Raven took a step back to give her some breathing room. Yang looked at the ground, unable to face her mother. "I'm still _mad _at you, though." She remarked.

"And I don't _blame _you." Raven sighed. "But now that you know the _truth, _I was hoping we could make amends. Make up for lost time. What can I do to prove to you that I want to improve our relationship?"

The huntress soon regretted asking that once she saw the sly grin on her daughter's face. "Well, there are two things you could do…" She replied. "Dad told me about a certain _routine _Team STRQ had. Made it so the guy who screwed up got a dose of _humility."_

Raven hung her head as she gave an exasperated sigh. Then she crossed her arms and looked Yang dead in the eyes. "I would just like everyone to know…that I _suck."_

"And?" Yang smirked.

"And that I'm a _loser." _Raven rolled her eyes. "And that I wear _stupid clothes._ And I would like to smell _all _the paint fumes." Despite the humiliation, Raven couldn't help but smile as she heard Yang laugh. "Okay, now that _that's _over with, what's the _second _thing you mentioned?"

"...can you teach me to use a sword?" The blonde brawler asked.

Raven blinked. "Come again? I mean, yes, I'd _love_ to do it, but I'd like to know _why._ It was always my impression that you took after your father in terms of your fighting style."

Yang shrugged. "And I don't plan on getting rid of that fighting style altogether. Still, of all the things that Paulette said and did, the one thing I _can't_ fault her for is how she - according to Ruby - was trying to prepare me for the possible return of Adam Taurus in her own, twisted way. Because she was right; there's a good chance that he _will_ return someday, or that someone with equal skills in combat will come around. If that happens...well, if there's one thing my fight with Blake's douche ex proved, it's that I won't be able to simply _punch_ my way out of every problem that comes my way. So, please, help this Sunny Little Dragon to _truly_ bear her fangs." Yang paused to reflect on her words. "Dragon. Fang." She smirked. "I think I just found the new name of my secondary weapon...well, once I find and/or make it, that is."

Raven rolled her eyes with an amused smile. "Let's get you at least on an adequate level in swordplay before you go claiming or naming your weapon." She sighed before giving a nod. "I'll be happy to help you learn the basics - and maybe throw in a few _specialized_ techniques in there - but just as a heads up, I _will_ have to return to the tribe eventually. As far as they know, I'm simply repaying a perceived debt I owe to Summer…which, now that I think about it, isn't _too_ far off the mark, but that's not the point. Whether I like it or not, I'm still the Brawnwen Tribe chief and as such, I have a responsibility to see to it that they don't get into _too_ much trouble. Skilled as he might be in combat, it's only a matter of time before Peter gets his head stuck in a pumpkin...again."

Yang couldn't help but give a snort. "I guess you could say he's…_Pumpkin Pete?"_

Raven blinked before giving a light chuckle. "I can't believe I never thought of that...but then again, Taiyang always _did_ have the better time coming up with jokes, as bad as some of them could be."

Yang gave a shudder that was equal parts discomfort and amusement. "Now _that_ is something I already know all too well." Both she and her mother burst out into a shared laugh, before Yang gave Raven a light smile. "I guess you're not so bad after all." She then sighed. "If you need to look after your tribe, I won't stop you. Just knowing that you're alive and that you _actually_ cared about me will have to be enough for me."

Raven just brushed some hair out of the girl's eyes before giving Yang a smile. "I can't promise much, but I _can_ promise that I'll _always_ be there when you _really_ need me…and to show up for holidays and birthdays."

"Oh, you'd _better_ show up," Yang declared with mock outrage, before joining her mother in a laugh and sharing a hug with her. She then shook her head as she broke the embrace. "Don't think this means I've forgiven you. Not sure I can genuinely see you as family after everything that's happened, _Raven."_

The Spring Maiden had to force down a flinch, understanding full well that it would take some time before Yang was ready to call her "Mom." Nevertheless, she gave a reluctant nod. "I...I know. I hate to admit it, but Summer's done a _far_ better job as your mother than I have...but we don't _have_ to be family. I'm willing to just be a friend if it means I get to be a part of your life."

"_I just want you as a part of my life."_

Yang winced as the words declared by her sister after nearly getting her killed echoed through her mind, before nodding. "You talked to Ruby, didn't you?" She smirked as Raven gave a sheepish grin. "It's fine. I trust her. And from the sound of things, _she_ wants to trust _you._ Not too surprising, though; she always wants to see the best in people, so I suppose for _her_ sake I can give you a chance to prove yourself. So, Sensei, what's the first step of learning how to sword fight?" She asked with a grin. One that Raven returned, knowing that this would be the first step to reconnecting with her daughter, all the while both of them were ignorant of how Ruby and Summer were watching this exchange, a small smile shared between them.

Back at the cave, Fox was growing more and more perturbed by what he was hearing: it was the situation with Ruby all over again. On second thought, it was _worse._ Paulette had been _calm_ around Ruby, whereas with _this _woman, the rogue computer program was sounding more akin to a rabid animal. And if he was being honest, the woman wasn't fairing much better. To make matters even worse, he was picking up some strange chatter from deeper into the cave that...well, maybe it was just his imagination, but whoever they were, they didn't seem to be at all bothered by how they were _surrounded_ by swarms of Grimm. He didn't quite understand it, but needless to say, it was looking like a pretty good time to call for backup.

"Coco? Coco, can you hear me?" He whispered into his scroll. "I think I found Paulette."

Back at Beacon, Coco could hardly believe her ears. "Velvet! Yats! Get over here now!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Velvet shouted as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her, with Yatsuhashi right behind her. At last, the rabbit Faunus caught up to her leader, hands on her knees as she breathed heavily. "Whew...I _came." _She panted.

"What's the problem, Coco?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"Fox is rambling about some kinda _'cave devil' _nearby. Be on the lookout."

Meanwhile, Blake was just heading back to Team RWBY's dorm room - reading the latest piece of erotica as she went - and found a certain ice queen sitting cross-legged on her bed, looking at her scroll. Curiously, Blake leaned over Weiss' shoulder to see Ruby's social media page. "Are you _cyber-stalking _Ruby's account?"

Weiss yelped from surprise. "Uh, _no! _Just checking on my leader!" She denied. "Look at this: Ruby and Penny at a _weaponsmith_ shop. Ruby and Penny at a _Dust_ store. Honestly, they call _this _a date?"

"Oh, my gods. Yang was right; you _are _jealous of Penny." Blake giggled.

"_What?!_ N-no, I'm not!" Weiss shouted, only to frown when Blake gave a deadpan look in response; as if to ask "Are you _sure_ about that?"

The Schnee heiress hung her head. "Alright, maybe I _am_ a _little_ jealous, but not for the reasons you think."

Blake merely raised an eyebrow in response. "You know, we wouldn't hold it against you if you felt the same way about Ruby as Yang and I felt about each other."

Weiss gave a grateful smile, but shook her head in frustration. "I know, and thanks for that, but like I said, that's _not_ why I'm jealous. Okay, fine; _maybe_ I have feelings for Ruby - I'm honestly not sure at the moment - but if Penny makes Ruby happy, then I have no business interfering. No, the reason why I'm jealous boils down to a simple question: why is it _Penny_ can come back from the dead and get _hugs and kisses_ while all _I_ get for taking a bullet for her is the cold shoulder?! Yeah, from _her_ point of view, we've just met, but the _least_ she could do is thank me for saving her life!"

"I never _did that_, did I?" declared a newly arrived Ruby, having returned from her shopping spree with Penny, tears in her eyes. Before Weiss could reply, Ruby ran up and threw her arms around the heiress. "I'm sorry. I _know_ you helped me, but I don't really know you, not really. All I _do_ know is that I can't understand why you would try and sacrifice her life for me...especially when I couldn't shake the feeling that you _hated_ me. I just...needed some space to try and figure things out...and I just ended up making _you_ think that _I_ hated _you,_ and that couldn't be farther from the truth, despite what you might think."

Weiss could only shed some tears of her own as she returned the hug. "I know, and the truth is that _I_ don't hate _you_ either. Alright, fine: you can be childish, dim-witted at times, hyperactive, and your fighting capabilities without your scythe could use some work, but with how…_difficult_ I can be to work with, I'm honestly surprised it took Paulette killing off your memory of me for you to start treating me with even an _ounce_ of the scorn that _I_ gave _you_ when we first met. You _are_ my best friend, Ruby, even if you can't remember us forming that bond, and I _promise,_ if you'd just give me a _chance,_ every bit of kindness you've given me will be returned and then some."

Ruby gave a teary-eyed grin even as she broke the embrace, the ghost of a memory of someone saving her from a Death Stalker during her initiation appearing before her eyes. "So, basically, if _I_ quit trying to show off, you'll be…_nicer?_" Ruby blinked even as Weiss' eyes widened at hearing those words, the former of which holding her head in her hands, seemingly in pain. "I...I'm sorry: I don't know where that came from. It's just...every now and again, I get flashes of this girl that I tried making friends with. I remember feeling…_happy_ during our time together, _grateful_ that she treated me like just another student, and _frustrated_ that I could never get her to smile more often: she had a _great_ smile, you know. I just...I'm pretty sure she _respected_ me, but I always got the feeling that she never _liked_ me, you know? She was just…"

Weiss gave a bitter chuckle. "'...a total Ice Queen'? Yeah, as much as I _hate_ that nickname, I can't deny that it pretty much describes my attitude back then pretty accurately." She gave a helpless shrug as Ruby looked at her with an expression that was equal parts confusion and understanding. "I didn't make the best impression when we first met, and I'll admit to having taken you for granted, but I'm willing to start over, if you are." To prove her point, she held out a hand with a smile. "Hello, my name is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, up-and-coming Dust Mage, and huntress-in-training."

Ruby looked at the hand and smiled. "Ruby Rose, amatuer mechanic and weaponsmith, up-and-coming Silver-Eyed Warrior, and huntress-in-training," she remarked before foregoing the handshake and giving Weiss a hug. "I can't promise to be the same girl that you remember."

Weiss just nodded. "It's fine: _I'm_ hoping to be _better_ than the one that you _don't_ remember," she declared as she shared a bitter chuckle with Ruby, not _quite_ noticing that Summer and Raven had been listening in on their conversation from the hallway.

Summer just chuckled. "Remind you of anyone?"

Raven gave a shrug and a smile. "Yeah, it _does_ bring back memories...though I don't recall ever wanting to kiss you."

Summer snorted. "Didn't stop you from doing it that one time, though."

Raven could only give an angry blush. "If I ever find out who arranged that mistletoe…"

Meanwhile on Patch, Taiyang let out a sneeze, feeling a bit uneasy for some reason.

As all this was going on, however, Team CFVY were discussing who's turn it was to drive the Warthog, who would ride shotgun, and who would man the minigun turret. At last, Coco came up with a solution. "Okay!" She said, "I'm thinking of a number between one and a hundred. Whoever gets it gets first call on dibs. What is it?"

"Sixty-nine." Velvet and Yatsuhashi replied in perfect unison.

"Damn!" Coco snapped her fingers. "Back to square one!"

"Hey! What the hell are _you _three doing here?" The group turned to see Raven Branwen walking up to the Warthog. "Do any of you even have a _license?"_

"I do!" Velvet proudly declared, holding up said licence as proof, merely blinking when Raven and her two teammates looked at her in shock. "What? I needed the skill to get away from the more persistent members of the White Fang and besides, I needed some activities to take up my time because _somebody_ wouldn't let me participate in combat training."

Coco just groaned. "How many times can I say 'I'm sorry?' Eh, don't answer that."

Raven cleared her throat. "Regardless, I'd feel more comfortable if you had someone watching your back, so I'll go ahead and contact Ruby and see if she can't arrange for someone to follow you in the tank."

Yatsuhashi blinked as Raven went off to find her niece. "Hey, is it just me, or did she actually seem concerned about us?"

Velvet snorted. "She's Yang's mother: I don't think she ever _stopped_ caring. She just had a string of bad luck, is all."

Speaking of bad luck, a blast of plasma suddenly destroyed the Warthog, much to everyone's surprise. "MWAHAHAHAHA! You fools! No one gets the drop on _me!" _Paulette declared as she rode in on the mysterious vehicle.

"Oh, no! I'm too late!" Fox cried as he ran up behind the possessed medic. "Guys! Look out! It's the cave devil!"

While Paulette terrorized Team CFVY and Raven, Ruby watched all the drama unfold through the scope on Crescent Rose. Unfortunately, she was out of Dust and the rest of her team were spread out all over Beacon. Then, she spotted the school's tank. "Hmm…" She pondered. "Call the team…or get the tank…team…tank…team…tank…ah, _screw it!" _With that, the hooded huntress in training rushed over to the tank, ready for her rematch with Paulette.

**To Be Continued**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Despite having never taken the proper training course, Ruby rushed towards the tank. Opening the canopy, she struggled to climb inside due to her height, but eventually managed to get in. Once the canopy closed, a small computer screen lit up, followed by a chipper feminine voice. "Hello! And thank you for activating the M808V Main Battle Tank! My name is Sheila!"

"Oh, hello, Sheila." Ruby smiled. "Uh, can you help me drive this tank so I can help my friends?"

"Are you saying you wish to activate the tutorial program?"

"Oh, _yes please!" _Ruby clapped and grabbed the controls. "That would be _very _helpful, Sheila!"

"Activating tutorial program." Sheila began. "This program is designed to train non-certified drivers on proper maintenance and handling of the M808V Main Battle Tank. Let's begin with some driving."

"Okay, uh…" Ruby instinctively pressed her foot down on the first pedal she felt and the tank lurched forward. But to her shock, the poor girl looked down to see something most confusing.

"Now that you've mastered driving," Sheila went on. "Let's move on to some of the more advanced features."

"No!" Ruby cried. "No! No! Wait! Go back! Why are there six pedals if there are only four directions?!"

_"Tell me where she is, or I start hunting down your _daughter_ instead," Ciel heard a mysterious female voice declare as she entered her home._

_"I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to: while I'll admit to getting letters from her from time to time, she _never_ reveals her exact location. Unless of course it's for an official get-together, and that's only because she comes to _us,"_ her father remarked, sounding to be in considerable pain._

_The mysterious female could practically be heard nodding. "Fair enough. I suppose I'll just have to retrace those letters you mentioned back to the source...and just in case you were thinking about warning her of my plans…"_

_Ciel, hearing her father start to cry out in pain, decided that she had heard just about enough, grabbing a soldering iron from a nearby desk that was glowing red from being left on for too long and burst through the door, managing to stab her father's would-be assassin in the arm with the improvised knife. "Who the _hell_ do you think you are, threatening my dad like that?!" she all but shouted._

_The woman, revealed to have been wearing a mask and still clutching her injured arm, growled, using what Ciel assumed to be her semblance to cause the ground beneath her to explode, throwing her back towards her father. "My name is Cinder Fall, and you can take that and the mystery of what I'll do with the information your father has given me to your _grave!"_ she declared, wasting no time in temporarily letting go of her bleeding limb to aim a blast at a chandelier above their heads, leaving as the light fixture landed with a miniature explosion._

_Ciel could only gap as she looked upon her father, having pushed her out of the way at the last second and now crushed beneath the ruined ceiling decoration. "Dad!" she shouted out in fear and panic. If she had only had a little more time, maybe she could've..._

_"Don't worry about me," her father demanded, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Contact Ozpin at Beacon Academy. Tell him that Autumn is in danger: he'll know what it means."_

_"Dad, I...there's _got_ to be a way to…"_

_"Sweetie, even if you contacted the hospital _right now,_ they'd never make it in time," her father declared, Ciel somehow knowing this was true. "It'll be alright, Ciel. In time, I'm sure...that you'll...accomplish wonders," he said with a proud smile, before breathing his last._

"_Dad?" Ciel couldn't stop the tears that leaked from her eyes even if she tried. "DAD!"_

"Cela fait deux ans depuis cette nuit, et je n'ai _toujours_ pas trouvé la personne que je cherchais (It's been two years since that night, and I _still_ haven't found the person I've been looking for)," Ciel declared even as she punched a nearby wall in frustration.

Ozpin could only give a mournful sigh, before turning and giving the daughter of his old friend a respectful nod. "I promise you, Ciel; you'll be one of the _first_ to know if we find anything about Cinder's whereabouts."

"Merci, monsieur Ozpin. (Thank you, Mister Ozpin.)" Ciel sighed. "Maintenant, à propos de cette chirurgie qui est censée réparer mon discours? (Now, about that surgery that's supposed to fix my speech?)"

"Ah, my apologies. Yes, we'll find someone soon enough."

Meanwhile, Penny Polendina was in a state of pure bliss. After hiding her true feelings for so long, she and Ruby Rose were finally girlfriends - the ultimate form of friendship! Their first date had gone off without a hitch, and later tonight, they'd be going on a second date. But this date would be different, hence why the android applied the dark green lipstick to her soft synthetic lips. "Thank you again for letting me borrow your lipstick, Rachael." She smiled.

"No problem." Racheal rubbed her chin. "But I just wanna say it out loud, so I know I understand it right… you, Penny Polendina, are actually a _robot. _And Ruby Rose is your _girlfriend. _So that makes _you… _a gay robot."

Penny pondered her friend's statement. "Yes. I suppose I _am _a gay robot."

Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the building, startling the two girls. "What the _hell _was that?!" Racheal screamed.

Back at Beacon, the Paulette-possessed Jean Purple was enjoying herself, immensely. It was only a matter of time before she got her revenge...but first, she mused to herself, she needed to get the attention of a certain someone. After all, she seemed to recall that Team RWBY's leader _did_ say that she had wanted to help her. _"Ruuuubyyyy:_ come out and _plaaayyyy," _was what Jean Purple broadcasted onto an open channel.

Speaking of Ruby, her teammates - Blake and Yang - could only give each other a nervous glance regarding the young girl upon hearing said broadcast. "This _has_ to be a trap," the latter declared.

Blake gave a bitter nod upon hearing this. "I know, but something tells me we couldn't stop Ruby from going even if we tried. That said, we might have another problem: Ilia recently informed me that Tyrian's on his way to Beacon."

Yang blinked upon hearing this. "Wait, who's Ilia, or Tyrian for that matter?"

Blake nodded, "Ilia is an old friend of mine within the White Fang. She stuck around after I had left, but don't worry: even when compared to the majority of Sienna's faction, Ilia has a bit of a code of honor and apparently even Sienna _herself_ was upset to learn that Adam took part in the attack on Beacon. As for Tyrian, short answer, he's Atlas' infamous 'Mad Scorpion.'"

"_The_ Mad Scorpion?!" Yang practically shouted. "Wasn't he the guy who took out over a dozen guards during a White Fang raid?"

"That's the one..." Blake declared with a disgusted look on her face "...and that's just _one instance_ of his _legendary_ bloodlust. Eventually, it was a bit more than Sienna could take and he was publically ousted from the group shortly before I myself left to carve out my own path. Unfortunately, he narrowly managed to escape being imprisoned by Atlas Academy itself soon afterwards. We've tried to keep an eye out for him ever since, because while the White Fang and Jacques Schnee might not agree on a _lot_ of things, one thing we _can_ agree on is that Tyrian Callows does _not_ deserve to breathe free air."

Yang gulped. "They're _sure_ that he's on his way _here?_ And now that I think about it, how would this Ilia girl even get a message to you in the first place?"

Blake shrugged. "Your latter question? The two of us kept contact with each other through secret channels and the like even _after_ I broke ties with Adam and by extension the White Fang: wouldn't say much, but she, and by extension Sienna Khan herself, _seemed_ to understand why I didn't want to associate with the group after my last mission with my ex-boyfriend. As for the former question, apparently a murdered Shade Academy student was found whose scar pattern on the autopsy report matches Tyrian's usual MO, and apparently, Tyrian never realized that someone had called this student while he interrogating him for information, so he never knew that his teammates were made aware of a client wanting to see him in Beacon."

Yang nodded. "Fair enough. Not sure I want to know how the White Fang got a hold of this information, and no offence to one of your old friends, but I'm not sure how much I trust a single word that comes out of 'Ilia's' mouth, but I _do_ trust _you,_ and if there's even a _chance_ that my sister is in danger, I'm going to do _everything_ in my power to keep her safe."

Blake simply gave a light smile and a nod at this. "Fair enough. Now, let's go help Ruby. Should we take the teleporter again?"

Yang's eyes widened. "Hell, no! I am _not _going through that thing again! Ever since I used it the _first time,_ I _still _feel this weird tingle in the back of my…" She motioned her hands over her breasts before rapidly shaking her head. "Look, I'm just not going through it again, okay?"

"Well, we can't let Paulette hurt our friends." Blake reasoned.

"Yeah? Well, I bet Paulette didn't think of _this!" _Yang snatched a Dust-grenade from her belt, pulled the pin, and threw it through the portal. "Now, c'mon! Let's go!" She exclaimed before dragging her girlfriend by the arm.

At the same time, Ruby was still struggling to control the tank. "Sheila! Please, help! I don't know what I'm doing!" At last, the poor girl slammed her foot on the correct pedal and engaged the brakes. "Phew…" She sighed, gratefully. As she looked out past the tank's canopy, she saw Paulette continuing to terrorize Team CFVY and her aunt. Thinking quickly, she managed to locate the weapons system and gripped the cannon's control stick.

"Now, to fire the main cannon, please locate the M808V's auto-target lock!" Sheila instructed.

"Okay… _auto-target lock. Auto-target lock…" _She skimmed her free hand over the control panel, hoping to find the right button.

While Ruby fiddled with the controls, Rachael and Penny had met up with Ciel and the three friends were rushing to to help their medic. Weiss, Yang, and Blake soon joined them, but before anything could be said, a purple blur snatched up Ciel. "MWAHAHAHAHA! I have _plans _for you, blue French girl!"

"Jean! Arrêtez! Lâchez-moi! (Jean! Stop! Let me go!)" Ciel struggled to break free, but to no avail.

"Hang on, Ciel! I'll help you!" Rachael shouted as she pulled out her gun and ran after them.

"No, wait, you idiot!" Weiss scolded and followed close behind.

Finally, Ruby found the correct button to activate the tank's cannon. Carefully moving the control stick, she aimed the auto-target lock onto the strange vehicle. Then, with a pull of the trigger, an artillery shell was fired from the main cannon, destroyed the vehicle, and sent Paulette and Ciel flying through the air.

"Son of a bitch!" Rachael yelped.

"Son of a _bitch!" _Yang instinctively tackled Blake and Weiss to the ground for protection.

"Fils de pute!" Ciel screamed in pain as she landed on her bum.

"MWAHAHAHAHA! Is that the best you can do?!" Paulette goaded before another artillery shell landed dangerously close to her. "Uh, oh." Thinking it would be best to retreat, Paulette grabbed Ciel and ran off to the caves.

"All targets eliminated." Sheila declared, proudly.

"Phew." Ruby wiped the sweat from her forehead and leaned back in her seat.

"What just happened?" Yang asked no one in particular.

"It's Ruby!" Weiss smiled, standing up. "She brought the tank and scared Paulette away! Hey, good job, Ruby! Why didn't you tell us you could drive the tank?!"

"New target acquired." Sheila stated.

"Huh? That's not a target. That's _Weiss." _Ruby corrected as she looked at the targeting computer.

"Target locked."

"What?! No! Target _unlock! Unlock!" _Ruby frantically started pushing buttons in an attempt to stop Sheila, but it was too late. "Uh, oh…"

"Uh, oh…" Yang - having caught on to what was happening - dragged Blake away from the Schnee heiress.

"What…?" Weiss' eyes widened as she saw the cannon's barrel aimed directly at her. "Oh, son of a bitch-"

But just as the shell was fired, Penny jumped in front of Weiss. Using her swords as a shield, the android took most of the blow. But the blast still burned Weiss. Weakly, she looked up at her savior. "Y-you… saved me?"

"As I told Ms. Rose; a friend of Ruby's is a friend of _mine." _Penny smiled and carried Weiss over to her teammates. Yang took the white-haired girl into her own arms and laid her down to inspect her injuries.

"Y-Yang…? Yang…?" Weiss' aura was slowly healing her, but she was still in immense pain.

"Don't worry, Weiss. We're gonna fix you up!" Yang promised as she held Weiss' hand. "Just keep talking to me."

"Y-Yang… if I don't make it… I want you to know… I always disliked you. I always disliked you the most."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I know you did."

"WEISS!" Ruby shouted as she ran up the hill, having since gotten out of the tank. "I didn't...the auto-target...you weren't...I'm sorry that...please be okay...I..." ...and that was as far as Ruby's panicked rambling went before she felt Weiss place a finger on her lips with a gentle smile on her face.

"It's okay, you dolt," Weiss declared. "I know you didn't _mean_ for this to happen, and besides, after what happened with the Dust vial incident from when we first met, I should be expecting for events to to get… _explosive_ with you around."

Ruby gave a sigh of relief, even as Yang shook her head and the phantom of a memory bounced around her skull, causing her to give a sheepish grin. "Eheh: did I ever apologize for sneezing that crater under us? ...er, wait, did that actually happen?" She couldn't help but ask.

Blake patted her teammate on the back in a comforting fashion. "Yes, that _did_ happen. And yes, you _both_ apologized after that incident; you for the clumsiness and sneeze, and Weiss for her short-sightedness and losing her temper. Don't worry, I'm sure your memories will sort themselves out in time." She declared before turning towards the cliff where Paulette previously stood. "Speaking of memories and/or knowledge, looks like I was right that Paulette might still have some plans for you, Ruby. But for now, I think we should focus on why she took Ciel with her in the confusion."

"While I'm _sure_ it's not the _only_ reason, but there _is_ the issue of shared interests." Penny declared. "After all, during my brief possession of her, I accidentally stumbled upon a few of her memories."

"Hey, _lots_ of girls slept with teddy bears!" Rachael shouted.

"Uh, no. I was referring to how Cinder had apparently murdered her father." Penny remarked with a deadpan expression.

To this, Ruby could only give a low whistle even as Rachael gave a sheepish grin by way of reply. "No wonder she wanted to help bring her to justice." The young scythe-wielder declared.

Yang shook her head. "Regardless, after what happened with _you,_ Ruby, I doubt Ciel would ever _willingly_ assist Paulette in changing a lightbulb. Let alone destroy the economy of her home."

Blake blinked. "Wait, what did you say?"

"That Ciel would _never_ willingly help Paulette destroy Atlas?"

"Willingly. _That's_ the key word." The Cat Faunus declared with a frightened look on her face.

"... you think that Paulette could _force_ Ciel to help her?" Ruby asked, joining others in gaining a shocked and frightened look on their faces.

"Your mother already confirmed that there _are_ a few Control Chips left over from the Great War, and there _are_ still some means - legally and morally questionable as they are - of obtaining them." Was the only answer Blake could give. "The only question _I_ have is; if that is indeed how she intends to force Ciel's hand, and if so, how she would get her hands on one."

Before anyone could reply, something came out of the teleporter and landed in the center of the group. "Uh, what the hell is _that?" _Coco asked, tipping her sunglasses down.

"Oh, shit! RUN!" Yang shouted just as the grenade went off. After the dust cleared, Yang saw her girlfriend glaring at her. "Yeah, yeah, I _know." _She sighed.

Meanwhile, Paulette had just finished attaching the Control Chip to Ciel's personal tracking chip. "Remind me to thank _Tyrian _for stealing this for me, won't you?" She chuckled to her captive.

In spite of the literal pain in her neck, Ciel looked up to see the crude surgical equipment Jean's device used to perform the surgery. "Ugh. Je jure devant Dieux, Jean, si je contracté le tétanos à cause de toi, je te botterai le cul. (Ugh. I swear to gods, Jean, if I get tetanus because of you, I will kick your ass.)"

"I don't know what you said, but I don't care for your _tone." _Paulette sneered. The possessed medic took out a handheld device, cut the blue-clad watchmaker free of her restraints, and spoke into the device's microphone. "Stand up." She ordered.

Much to her dismay, Ciel found her body acting against her own will. She stood on her feet and stepped closer to Paulette. Next, she bowed before her new master. "Qu'est-ce... que c'est? Qu'est-ce que tu m'as fait? (What… what is this? What have you done to me?)"

"MWAHAHAHAHA! Confusing, isn't it?" Paulette cackled. "I'm sure _I'd _want to know just what the hell is going on if I were you. Let's just say, I've made you a bit more willing to obey my commands. I have _big plans _for this world, my friend. And like it or not, _you're _going to help me."

**To Be Continued.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"We've _got _to save Ciel and Jean." Rachael punched the wall out of frustration.

"...and we _will,"_ Coco declared, "but we won't be able to save _anyone_ if all we're doing is panicking, right Velvet?" She blinked upon hearing no reply before turning and finding a note on a nearby bed. "'Went to find Ciel and Jean. Will be back as soon as I can. XOXO, Velvet,'" she read off the note, only to give an exasperated groan. "Now that is just _rude,"_ she complained, only to spot an envelope underneath said note, not to mention said note had a postscript. "'P.S. I left you and Yatsuhasi some _pictures_ of me in case you two were upset about my leaving the two of you hanging regarding our _playtime._ I'm _sure_ they'll give you some _ideas_ for later.'" Curiosity overtaking her, she set down the note and peaked into the envelope from earlier. "WHOA MAMA!" she exclaimed with wide eyes before giving a grin as she resealed the envelope. "Well, _I'm_ pacified."

Meanwhile, Ciel had honestly seen better days. On the one hand, she was grateful that so far the only order she'd been given was to stay put and to not contact anyone, not to mention that Paulette/Jean was currently elsewhere taking care of some other business. On the other, she was fearful about what _other_ orders she'd be given in the future and what this "business" entailed. Eventually, she couldn't contain her frustration anymore and let out a groan. "C'est tout simplement _affreux._ Une minute, je traîne avec mes coéquipiers, et la suivante, un psycho A.I. m'a emmené en captivité avec l'un de mes coéquipiers et me force à essayer de tuer Cinder (This is just _dreadful._ One minute, I'm hanging out with my teammates, and the next, a psycho A.I. has taken me and one of my said teammates captive and is forcing me to try and kill Cinder)," she groaned. "Je veux dire, normalement ça ne me dérangerait pas cette dernière partie… (I mean, normally I wouldn't mind that last part…)"

"...mais ça vous dérange parce que ce n'est pas _vous_ qui avez fait le choix? (...but it bothers you because it wasn't _you_ that made that choice?)" declared a newly arrived Velvet, not _quite_ returning the relieved smile Ciel gave her. Taking a quick look at the back of Ciel's neck, the rabbit Faunus gave a disgusted shake of her head. "Control Chips: those things should have _never_ been invented."

"Prêchant au chœur là-bas, mon ami (Preaching to the choir there, my friend)," Ciel said with a snort before gaining a somber look, "Même si je ne sais pas si je devrais t'appeler comme ça (Though I'm not sure if I should be calling you that)."

"And why not?" Velvet asked with a raised eyebrow, "Don't tell me that you _actually_ intend to help Paulette."

"Je n'ai pas le choix!" Ciel all but shouted.

"YES YOU DO! YOU _ALWAYS_ HAVE A CHOICE!" was what Velvet _actually_ shouted, only to give a blush as Ciel slapped her hands over the Faunus' mouth. After a few moments of silence told them that the cost was clear, the French girl dropped her hands and the rabbit weaponsmith cleared her throat. "Funny thing about those control chips: from what I've read, they didn't _completely_ get rid of the rebellions in the camps. Seems that _quite_ a large number of implantees managed to find a few _loopholes_ in the orders they were given."

"Attends, vraiment? (Wait, really?)" Ciel couldn't help but ask before stopping to think, eventually gaining a sly grin as an idea formed in her mind. "Paulette a dit que je ne pouvais pas contacter mes amis, mais elle n'a _jamais_ dit que l'un d'eux _me_ contactait et transmettait des messages à tout le monde. (Paulette said that I couldn't contact my friends, but she never said _anything_ about one of them contacting _me_ and passing along messages for everyone else.)"

Here, Velvet could only give a proud yet mischievous grin even as she declared, "Bienvenue dans la rébellion, Ciel (Welcome to the rebellion, Ciel)."

As it turned out, feelings of pride were contagious; as evidenced by the wide grin that was spread across Raven Brawnwen's face as she watched her daughter practice some of the katas she had been shown with one of the training swords that the academy had lying around. While Yang had yet to find or forge a weapon that, in her own words, "spoke to her" - and it would be some time before she could ever call herself a true swordswoman - the Brawnwen chieftess couldn't help but be reminded of herself as she watched her daughter in action. She could only hope that she'd be a better woman than her when she grew up.

"Good." Raven nodded in approval.

"Thanks." Yang replied, confidently.

"But do you really _need _to burn all of that energy?" Raven asked, rhetorically. The huntress unsheathed her own katana and positioned herself to demonstrate. "You're still treating the blade as a _blunt _weapon. In certain situations, slashing it around like a _baseball bat _is a good way to get yourself killed. Sometimes, all you need is a _quick, silent jab."_

"Don't know if you've noticed, Raven, but I don't really _do _'silent.'" Yang retorted.

"Then you need to learn to _adapt." _Her mother replied. "An aggressive style is fine in a _fist fight; _but you can't always count on being able to go in, guns blazing. More often than not, you'll need to use _brains _over _brawn._ Even your _father _had to learn this."

"Oh, yeah?" Yang arched an eyebrow at the mention of her father. "What do you mean?"

Raven smiled as the fond memory came back to her. "Well, there was a certain mission back when Team STRQ was still in Beacon. We were assigned to investigate a disturbance in a neighboring village. A group of bandits were terrorizing the civilians for money… or for _fun, _who can remember? Taiyang got separated from us, and got himself captured. Naturally, we were afraid he'd get himself killed, but by the time we caught up to him, he had turned the entire group _against _each other."

Yang whistled; impressed by the bold claim. "How'd he do _that?"_

Raven smirked. "How best to _explain it…?" _She thought to herself. "Okay. Yang, have you ever said anything to someone you care about? Something you _knew _you shouldn't have said, but said it _anyway? _Something _really _hurtful?"

Yang rubbed her chin, trying to think of a proper example. At last, she shrugged. "Sure."

"Well, what made you _say _it?" Raven asked. "Too little _sleep? _Skipped _breakfast? _Or maybe someone _provoked _you into saying it."

"So what? He _insulted _them into submission?"

"Not _quite." _Raven carried on. "During the time your father was being held captive by the bandits, he had been reading their facial expressions and body language like a _book. _He found that they were all holding back a serious amount of resentment towards each other, and used that knowledge to his advantage."

_Raven had just slipped inside the enemy camp to do some reconnaissance, only to force herself to stifle her own gasp upon hearing one of the mercenaries yell out. "Okay, intel says that the rest of the team from Beacon the Boss warned us about should be showing up any minute now. The way _I_ figure it, we kill the prisoner and use the chump's teammates' grief and anger against them to take _them_ out as well. Any questions?"_

_"Yeah, _I've_ got one," Taiyang declared, showcasing a sly grin on his face. "Which one of you gets the honor of _trying_ to take me out?"_

_"Excuse me?" Someone else couldn't help but ask._

_"Well, the fact of the matter is that the whippings and starving you put me through were _amatuer hour_ levels of abuse and torture, as I'm sure some of _you_ would agree." He said with a roll of his eyes, noting how some of the bandits gave each other looks of either astonishment or reluctant agreement. "No, really: I _mean_ it. My partner's _snoring_ causes me headaches _leagues_ worse than the pain inflicted by the sorry excuse for punishment _you_ lot gave out. And given how my girlfriend isn't always the best cook...well, let's just say that I've gone _way_ longer without decent food than the forced fasts _you_ have put me through."_

_"What exactly are you saying?" Another goon asked with narrowed eyes._

_"Nothing," Taiyang said with a shrug. "Just that the only reason you took me hostage was that you took my team by surprise, and _that_ was really just a bunch of dumb luck given the ambush wouldn't have even _worked_ if I hadn't forgotten to pack extra rounds that morning. Not to mention that your collective fighting style seems to be to either tackle-and-beat your opponent to death or shoot them. If I had to guess, none of you have ever been in a _real_ fight in your life, and as such, wouldn't be able to _actually_ kill me even if I put a gun in your hand and have you try and shoot me with it, and if you think I'd just _let_ you do that, then you're even dumber than I thought you were."_

_"Shut up!" _

_"Don't _tell_ him to shut up; _shut_ him up!"_

_"Oh, that actually reminds me of another question I had." Taiyang replied, looking like he was trying to hold back a laugh. "Who _is_ in charge around here? I mean, Mr. Mustache over here mentioned that you all have a head-honcho that you all answer to somewhere off-sight, but what about now when they're not around? I mean, no offense but I don't think that Jo-a-nes over there is in charge of _anything."

_"Okay, one: that's just _rude._ Two, my name is pronounced _Jones._ JONES!" _

_"Shut it, Jo-a-nes!"_

_"And you." Taiyang continued. "'Keith,' was it? Am I supposed to be intimidated by a guy with a name like _that,_ because let me tell you, it's _not_ working."_

_"See, I _told_ you that you should've it changed to it to something like...I don't know: 'Borris?!'"_

_"Sh...shut up!"_

"Enough!"_ Shouted "Mr. Mustache." _"I'm_ in charge while the Boss is away, and I say we get rid of the pest now!" He all but growled as he pointed his gun at Taiyang, before finding his leg sweeped by one of the subordinates._

_"And what if we don't _want_ you to be in charge?" The subordinate demanded._

_Taking a chance, Raven picked up a pebble and tossed it at a nearby goon. Needless to say, the punch he gave the guy next to him in supposed retaliation was enough to make the emotional powder keg explode._

Raven could only give a laugh, both at the look her daughter was giving her and the nostalgia from her memories that washed over her. "After that, it was an almost _insultingly_ easy task of using my semblance to portal the two of us back to our teammates and contacting the proper authorities… though needless to say, more than a few of them needed a trip to the hospital before their trip behind bars."

Yang could only nod, understanding the message her mother was trying to get across, before blinking as she realized another detail that had shown itself in the story she was just told. "You really _did_ love my dad, didn't you?"

Raven could only give a melancholy smile. "I did… and in a way, I still do, but I have no intention of ruining what he and Summer have now. If the only family bond I can _truly_ claim is that of your sister's Aunt, then that will have to be enough for me. At least then I'll know that I didn't _completely_ mess everything up. Just know that despite _everything,_ I have and always _will_ love you, my Sunny Little Dragon."

Yang just whipped her eyes as she gave a tear-filled smile. "Alright, that's enough sappiness for one day, Mom. What say we go one more round and then see how Ruby and the others are doing?"

Here, Raven blinked, before giving a tear-filled grin of her own. "Did...did you just call me _Mom?"_

Yang practically froze, going over the words herself before giving a slight grin and a nod. "Yeah, I...I suppose I _did._ Don't get me wrong; Summer Rose will _always_ have a special place in my heart, but who knows? Keep _acting_ like one, and I might just warm up to the idea of having two Moms."

Raven gave a nod of acceptance as she and her daughter went back to sparring, not _quite_ noticing that Summer had stumbled upon their practice session and heard every word, nor how she gave a tear-filled smile full of happiness and pride at what she'd just seen and heard.

"But _seriously, _though." Yang went on. "Were you _always _this eager to prove you loved us before you became the Spring Maiden?"

"Oh, _hell _no. I've _always _been a rotten bitch. Except _now, _I'm a rotten bitch with elemental powers at my fingertips." Raven conjured a small spark of lightning to emphasize her point.

"Boy, dad sure can _pick _'em."

Meanwhile, the rest of Team RWBY was still trying to learn how to properly handle the tank. Weiss - having gotten to know the tank's cannon a bit too well - hid behind one of her glyphs for protection. Blake, however, grew impatient as Ruby seemed to be wasting ammunition. "Ruby! Why are you shooting the same target?!"

"Because it's _locked on!" _Ruby shouted from the canopy.

"Well, _unlock _it!"

"Last time I unlocked it, I shot Weiss and Penny!"

"Oh… yeah, keep shooting the same target." Just then, Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Fox stepped forward to give an update on Velvet's spy mission. Blake and Weiss couldn't help but giggle as they saw Fox's new armor. "Well, hello, ladies." Blake smirked. "And Yatsuhashi."

"It's _not _pink." Fox snapped. "It's _lightish red."_

"Anyways, we just thought you'd like to know what Paulette was up to." Coco spoke up after rolling her eyes at Fox's commentary. "Velvet says she's coercing Ciel into building her a robot army to invade Atlas."

"Wait, Velvet's _alone _with Paulette?" Weiss asked.

"Hey, _we _don't like it any more than _you _do." Yatsuhashi cut in. "Believe me, I miss having _both _of my lovely ladies at my front and back. But Velvet isn't _helpless. _And right now, she's the only thing keeping tabs on that psychopath."

Weiss gave a sigh of frustration. "You're right. Sorry. But after all the damage she's done, I still don't like the idea of anyone being too close to Paulette."

"Having had the most experience with her, I'm confident that Paulette won't outright kill Ciel, Jean, or even Velvet if she somehow manages to get caught." Ruby declared. "But what bothers me is that according to Fox, our resident rogue A.I. is housed somewhere with a _lot_ of Grimm nearby, and I can't shake the feeling that they're somehow involved in whatever she's planning… which reminds me. I need to talk to my Mom about maybe teaching me something about how to control these Silver Eyes of mine; something tells me I'll be needing to use them to protect my friends and family again in the near future."

Meanwhile, Glynda was currently staring down the Beacon Headmaster like he had just told her that he had just consumed molten lava. _"Please_ tell me you're joking."

Ozpin could only groan. "I very much wish I was, but unfortunately, James is flat-out ignoring my calls. So either he knows what's happening and is hoping to cover it up, or is ignorant of the problems we're having and is dealing something just as serious on his end. And honestly, I'm not sure which scenario frightens me more."

Glynda could only sigh. "Give it to me straight, Ozpin; how bad _is_ our situation?"

Ozpin nodded. "It _is_ still manageable, all things considered, but given that one of our security cameras picked _this_ up on the feeds recently, I do believe that things _will_ get more complicated sooner rather than later." He declared as he slid a photograph across his desk towards his second-in-command.

The Vice-Headmistress could only raise an eyebrow as she looked at the photograph, only for her eyes to widen as she took in the visage of the vehicle that the students had encountered earlier. "Is...is this…?"

Ozpin could only sigh as he said, "It is indeed. It seems we're not the _only_ ones who know that Ruby has awakened her Silver Eyes, and knowing what we do about 'Paulette', I can't help but think it's not a coincidence that one of _their_ vehicles showed up during the capture of Miss Polendina's teammate."

Glynda couldn't help but pale at this. "Do you think that _she…?_

Here, Ozpin shook his head. "No, this isn't Salem. If it were, there would be a _lot_ more panic in the streets. No, this is _Paulette's_ plan, but that doesn't make it any less crucial that we deal with this as quickly as possible. Who knows what _other_ surprises our enemy has in store for us?"

Meanwhile, Yang had decided to explore the outskirts of the cave system that Fox and her sister had mentioned, taking care not to _actually_ enter the cave just yet. Taking note of the tire tracks that her teammates had mentioned, she nodded to herself. "Yep, those definitely don't match up to anything that's currently on the market, at least to my knowledge." She blinked upon noticing a strange gauntlet near a set of said tracks that apparently had been dropped in the chaos of battle. "...and it looks like I might have found our first clue as to what we're dealing with."

As she picked it up, however, she was surprised to find a glowing blade shot out of the gauntlet, causing her to drop it again in surprise. Cautiously picking it up once more, she took a few practice swings before gaining a wide grin. "I'll need to have my Mom and sister take a look at this to make sure it's safe, but I think I just found my Dragon Fang!" she exclaimed, before freezing in place, feeling like someone, or _something,_ was watching her.

"Who's there?!" She demanded, aiming her Ember Celica at the surrounding area for a few moments, before sighing. "Okay, maybe I was just imagining things, but it'd probably be a good idea to get the others and check this place out." she declared to herself before getting on Bumblebee and heading back.

As she left, however, she just barely missed a strange humanoid-looking Grimm appear from behind a nearby rock, watching her closely as she left on her motorbike. "So it begins," he said with a smile.

**To be continued**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"What…?

"The…?"

"Hell?"

Yang smiled with pure glee as she showed off her newest weapon. "Yeah, my new sword-gauntlet _is _pretty cool, but that's not the… _point!" _Yang stabbed the air for emphasis, laughing at her own joke. "But seriously, guys, Paulette is _definitely _up to something in those caves. So we should… _cut to the chase!" _Again, Yang slashed the blade through the air, laughing at her own pun. "And we'll have to be _extra _careful not to let Paulette… _cut and run _this time!"

"Oh, my gods! SHUT UP!" Weiss screamed in frustration. "For gods' sake, Yang! Can you not take _anything _seriously?! We're trying to stop a psychotic computer program from destroying Atlas, and you're wasting time picking up random weapons with _no _regards of the consequences?! Did you lose your _brain cells _along with your _arm?!"_

The entire room fell deathly silent. Yang hung her head in shame, causing Ruby and Blake to glare at the Schnee heiress for her harsh words. Speaking of which, Weiss wasn't feeling particularly proud of herself right now. "Uh, Yang… I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I… I lost my temper. It was unprofessional. I'm sorry."

"I never knew you felt that way." Yang said. "I mean… you really… _CUT ME TO THE BONE! YEE-OW! Sword, sword, sword!" _The blonde brawler ran off, laughing and slashing at anything she set her sights on.

"... you know what?" Weiss grumbled, bitterly. "I genuinely fucking _hate _her sometimes."

"Okay, we need to divide and conquer." Ruby decided. "Weiss, you and I will go meet up with Penny at the caves. She volunteered to go ahead and see if she could find an alternate route inside so we could sneak up on Paulette. I even gave her a _kiss _for good luck!" The hooded huntress giggled.

"Of _course _you did." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"In the meantime, Blake, you go try to calm Yang down and have Teams JNPR and CFVY meet up with us. In fact, go ahead and call my mom and Aunt Raven. It wouldn't hurt to have some _experienced _huntresses on our side."

"Good idea, Ruby." Blake nodded in approval. "But be careful."

Meanwhile, Penny Polendina had indeed found an alternative entrance to the caves that Paulette had taken as her refuge. Suddenly, the living android tripped over something and fell face-first into the dirt. Sitting up, she spotted a bizarre device shaped like an hourglass. Realizing she needed to focus on the task at hand, she placed the device in her back compartment next to her swords for future study. Back on track, Penny continued down the cave, only to find another mind-boggling discovery; a large computer resting along the cave walls. Upon further inspection, Penny saw a thick layer of dust coating the computer and deduced that Paulette had nothing to do with it. Multiple other cables traveled down the other caverns, connecting to other intricate mechanisms. Against her better judgement, Penny activated the computer in an attempt to find out who was responsible for it.

Once the machine was fully powered up, the screen flickered on to reveal a pale-blue, featureless face. "Salutations." A deep, feminine, monotone voice echoed. "You are early."

"Who? Me?" Penny pointed to herself, slightly put off by the direct statement.

"You were not supposed to be here for another one thousand, six hundred and forty-eight years."

"I don't understand." Penny scratched her head, curiously. "Who do you think I am? Who are _you?_ What _is _this place?"

"This is a castle built to hold the Great Weapon. I am the keeper of the Great Weapon. And you are the Great Destroyer." The voice explained. "You will take the Great Weapon, kill me, destroy this castle, and bring about the Great Doom for billions of people. Welcome! How may I help you?"

"I don't understand." Penny took a look around the cave. "I don't _see _any kind of weapon here. And what even makes you think that _I _am this 'Great Destroyer' you're talking about?"

"Your coming has been foretold by the Great Prophecy."

Penny was starting to feel slightly annoyed. "Did the people who built you know any adjective other than _'great'?"_

"The Great Prophecy claims that the Great Destroyer will be a female warrior."

"And you think that might be _me?"_

"The Great Prophecy also claims that the Great Destroyer will have boundless energy and courage. And will be regarded as the most beautiful being in all of Remnant."

"Wait, wait wait… this Great Destroyer is a _girl. _Who is very _strong and brave. _And she's very _pretty?"_

"Correct."

Penny's eyes widened as only one person came to mind. "... oh, no…"

Back at Beacon, Team JNPR was catching up on their studies. Ren was busy making a fresh batch of pancakes to keep Nora under control, while Jaune and Pyrrha studied history. A soft vibration drew Pyrrha's attention; her eyes widening at the text message. "Guys! We have to meet up with Ruby and the others! They're starting their assault on Paulette!"

"Oh, thank goodness." Nora sighed in relief as she slammed her book shut. "Ren, pack those pancakes to go!"

"We need to hurry!" Pyrrha picked up her sword and shield with her semblance, then threw Jaune his own weapons. "They're probably half-way to the cave by now."

"A _cave?" _Ren dropped the plate of pancakes - much to Nora's dismay - and looked at Pyrrha with a hint of fear in his eyes. "You mean like a cave with _bats?"_

"I don't know." Pyrrha shrugged. "Why, are you afraid of bats, or something, Ren?"

Ren scoffed, trying to hide his anxiety. "What? _No. _I'm not afraid of bats. And why would you even _ask _that? I mean, that's kind of a weird thing to ask out of nowhere. What, did you see any bats?"

"No, Ren, it's okay." Pyrrha tried her best to calm her teammate down. "We didn't see any bats."

"Did you _hear _any bats?"

"No, Ren."

"Did you _smell _any bats?"

"I don't know what _bats _smell like!" Pyrrha was slowly losing her patience.

"And let's hope you _never _find out." Ren bent down to pick up the plate, desperately trying to change the subject. "So, does anyone still want pancakes?"

Meanwhile, Summer was sitting with her youngest daughter, attempting to give a short lesson on how to use her Silver Eyes before she left for her mission with Weiss and Penny. "Let's start with what you already know about your… _our_ gift. Tell me."

"Uh, silver-eyed people are supposed to be legendary warriors, and during the battle of Beacon I turned a bunch of Grimm into stone," was the only reply Ruby could give.

All Summer could do was groan. "Dammit, Qrow. I know you and Tai wanted to avoid putting the burden of my power onto my daughter, but you didn't tell her _anything?!_ Ruby, remind me to yell at them later… and Ozpin too, while I'm at it." She then sighed, "Alright, let's break this down nice and simple: what was it you _felt_ when you activated your power?"

"I was scared, and stressed...is it emotional? Like unlocking a semblance?"

"It's emotional, but more focused than that," Summer commented with a slight grin to show that her daughter was indeed on the right path. "Think: what was it that you wanted?"

"I...I wanted to protect my friends."

"_Exactly._ It is the desire to preserve life that fuels the light of our eyes...and make no mistake: it _is_ light. Preservation is an extension of creation, or at the very least an enemy of destruction. The creatures of Grimm originated from the God of Darkness, but the light of the Silver Eyes comes from his brother," Summer remarked.

"...how do you know that?"

"Admittedly I have nothing concrete," Summer commented with a shrug and a grin, "but every depiction of the God of Light I found describes him with Silver Eyes."

Here, Ruby nodded, a determined grin on her face. "So...where do we start?"

Summer couldn't help but give a sheepish grin as she said, "Weeeell, not _here._ The light will only work in the presence of Grimm, meaning the only practice you'll get is a trial by fire. However, what you _can_ do is focus on a state of mind you can tap into if need be. Think of your eyes not as a weapon designed to destroy evil, but as an extension of yourself, ready and waiting to help you protect the people of Remnant."

It was at this point Ruby couldn't help but frown. "Wait, that can't be right." She nodded at the curious look her mother gave her. "You said that my eyes only affect the Grimm, but Pyrrha told me that Cinder seemed to be in pain shortly before she was shoved off of Beacon Tower, like my eyes might have had an affect on _her_ or something."

Summer could only sigh as this new information was dumped on her. "You've truly set yourself down upon a dark path, haven't you Miss Fall?" She waved off the question in her daughter's eyes. "It's a long story I'll tell you another time. For now, let's just say this isn't the _first_ time Cinder and I have crossed paths...and that if what you're saying is true, then there just might have been something going on in that moment that you and Pyrrha didn't see, or didn't _allow_ yourself to see in that moment. If I'm right about what that something is, I can only draw upon one conclusion: that she's in league with someone even _worse."_

"'Worse?' You mean Salem?" Ruby gave a shrug at the look her mother gave her upon saying that name. "Paulette mentioned the name once or twice while she and I had our little arrangement: seemed to me that once Jacques and Cinder were dealt with, she was going after _her_ next, though I could only get so much info out of her."

"Fair enough." Summer declared with a nod. "I'll explain what I know about her at a later day. For now, just know that Paulette _must_ be mad if she honestly thinks going after _Salem_ without a plan is a good idea."

"Uh, mad as in angry or crazy?"

"¿Por qué no pueden ser ambos? (Why can't it be both?)" Summer said with a grin as she shared a laugh with her daughter. It didn't matter that neither of them spoke Spanish: there was no way to _not_ like that commercial. However, the two of them were so wrapped up in their laugh fest that they didn't quite notice a group of cloaked figures watching them from afar.

Speaking of enjoying things, Weiss smiled as she took in the piece and quiet while she waited for her partner to finish up her lessons and for Penny to join them. As it turned out, she wouldn't have to wait long for the latter, as she sped up to her looking like she'd seen a ghost. "Whoa, Penny, where's the fire?" she couldn't help but ask.

"No time! A society of sentient Grimm is going to kill Ruby!" were the words thrown at the heiress.

While she didn't understand how "a society of sentient Grimm" was even a thing, Weiss quickly gained a glare. "Over my dead body. Come on, you can fill me in on the details on the way back."

"Right," the android said with a nod, before frowning as she was reminded of the misadventure they recently had. Clearing her throat, Penny declared, "So, Weiss, I realize this might not be the best time, but I hope you aren't _too_ upset that I used the knowledge I gained during our mind dive regarding how Ruby saw me to pursue a relationship with her."

"Oh my gods, _you too?!_ Why does everyone feel the need to point out my jealousy!? ...I totally just admitted I'm jealous of you, didn't I?" Weiss declared, gaining a blush and a groan added to that last part, doubly so with the former upon noticing Penny's stoic nod. With a sigh, she said, "Listen Penny: I'm more upset that Paulette hurt Ruby so badly and nearly destroyed my bond with her then I could _ever_ be about the dolt having a romantic interest, no matter _whom_ she chooses to go out with."

"So you're _not_ upset that we're dating?" Penny couldn't help but ask.

"I didn't say _that,"_ Weiss said with a slight blush, before adding, "but as long as she's happy with you, I don't intend to interfere. That said, and I'm sure you'll get the same sort of spiel from Yang and her parents, and maybe even her 'aunt,' but if you do _anything_ to hurt Ruby Rose...well, does the term 'electro-magnetic pulse' mean anything to you?"

Turns out it did, judging by how Penny looked like she would've turned as white as a sheet were she flesh and blood upon hearing those words. "N...noted," she gulped, before raising an eyebrow, "but that said, while I'm glad you won't interfere, I _have_ to know: _do_ you like her?"

Weiss just sighed, "I don't know: _maybe._ Despite how I'd taken our friendship for granted, I can't deny that she's _certainly_ a better dating prospect than a lot of the potential suitors my father set me up with, even if I were to be shallow and focus on her looks alone. I mean, _you_ see it: she's downright _adorable."_ She shared a laugh with Penny before sighing. "It's just that...even if I was certain I swung that way, and even if we _weren't_ in the process of rebuilding our shattered bond, I wouldn't have the right to pursue her. I'm just the heiress of a company that's drowning in the blood of innocents, the one who treated her like a pariah. Meanwhile, Ruby? She's _pure._ She's _brave._ She's _noble._ She's...standing right behind me, isn't she?" Weiss said, adding a sigh to that last bit upon noticing Penny directing a smile to something, or rather _someone,_ she saw over her shoulder.

"Yep," Ruby, having finished up talking with her mother, declared, before gaining a blush. "Even if I had all my memories of you, I'd probably _still_ be saying something along the lines of 'I never knew you felt that way.' But I'd probably _also_ say 'You're better than you think you are. The fact that you're still with us at Beacon _after_ learning that Blake was a Faunus, and a former member of the White Fang at that, is proof enough that you're not your father, and that you're too stubborn to let _anyone_ tell you that you can't be a better person.'" She sighed even as Weiss gave a grateful blush. "Weiss, I'll be honest here: if Paulette hadn't interfered, and if I wasn't already dating Penny, there's a good chance that I would have kissed you right here and now after that speech of yours, but as it is, I'm _still_ trying to figure out exactly who you are."

Here, Weiss couldn't help but shed a tear. "That being said," Ruby added with a grin, even as she whipped the tear from her partner's eye, "I can firmly say, right here and now, that I very much like what I've seen thus far, both inside _and_ out." After adding a wink, and getting a blush from both Weiss and Penny, Ruby continued with, "For now though, I'm sure Penny wouldn't mind you tagging along on our little get-togethers every now and again."

Weiss couldn't help but give a tear-filled grin even as Penny nodded in agreement. "Oh, you guys are the best."

Meanwhile, Blake, having _finally_ managed to calm Yang down, had joined up with Team CFVY to check out the spot where her partner had found her new sword, only to gain a worried frown upon noticing that a _new_ set of tracks had shown up: ones that seemed to be neither human, nor belonging to any animal that they could think of. "I don't think I've _ever_ seen tracks like _these."_

"_I_ have." Everyone froze in place at the sound of an unfamiliar voice.

"So after we enter the cave, we'll need to-" Weiss was cut off once Blake, Yang, and Team CFVY ran out of the cave, screaming in terror. As Yatsuhashi ran past them - carrying Coco and Fox over his shoulders - Blake sprinted ahead of Yang to grab Weiss and Penny and pull them away from the caves. Ruby looked on as her sister caught up.

"Did we _win?" _She asked.

"YEAH, RUBY! WE WON! WE'RE TAKING A VICTORY LAP!" Yang screamed as she picked up Ruby and sprinted back to Beacon. Once the group was safe behind the school's doors, Ruby, Weiss, and Penny could only watch in confusion as their friends ran circles around the room in a panic.

"OH, MY GODS! OH, MY GODS!"

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! WE ARE SO DEAD!"

"OH, MY GODS, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT THING?!"

"QUIET!" Ruby shouted at the top of her lungs, earning everyone's attention. "... hi." She waved, sheepishly, well aware that it wasn't like her to raise her voice like that, but chalked it up to some residual frustration from her time spent bonded with Paulette.

"Now, what's this all about?" Weiss asked no one in particular.

"Big… scary… Grimm… thing… cave…" Yang tried her best to form a coherent sentence, but her adrenaline levels hadn't fully died down.

"Oh, does this have something to do with the sentient Grimm Luna told me about?" Penny asked, raising her hand.

"Wait, you _knew _about that thing?!" Blake gawked.

Before Penny could respond, Team JNPR stumbled into the main hall. Jaune and Pyrrha had their weapons ready, but Nora had to forcibly drag Ren along with her. "Come _on, _Ren! We don't need that many flashlights!"

"But the more flashlights we have, the better we can see the _bats!" _Ren cried, holding onto as many flashlights he could find.

"Ren-"

"And their _fangs!"_

"Okay, I've had _enough _of this." Pyrrha sheathed her sword and stepped over to her nervous friend. "Okay, Ren, let's assume you're _right. _Let's say there _are _bats in the cave. So _what?! _You have an _aura. _A natural defense mechanism that protects you from _Dust-based weapons_ and _blunt-force trauma. _What _exactly _are you afraid that a _five ounce flying rodent _is going to do to you?"

"... so basically you're saying you _do _think there are bats in the cave." Ren replied; completely ignoring his friend's message.

"Ren! If Ruby needs our help, we _owe _it to her to help!" Pyrrha stated. "Now, put down those flashlights and get ready to go!"

Ren whimpered in fear at the thought of facing a cave full of bats. Then, he got an idea. "Hey, Pyrrha! You know what _else _might be in the cave? _Snakes."_

"You're an _asshole, _Ren!" Pyrrha shouted before cupping her hands over her mouth. "Oh! I'm _sorry! _But why would you bring up snakes? You _know _I don't like snakes!"

"Hey, I'm just saying; snakes _do _live in caves, and you want to go _into _a cave, and snakes like to crawl up to people's ankles, and-"

"Okay, _fuck it! _We're bringing more flashlights!" Pyrrha bolted back to the room to grab more lights.

_A few hours earlier, Penny was discussing the details of the Great Destroyer with the bizarre computer. "So, to recap, these… Doppelgangers," Penny tested the name of these strange humanoid Grimm the strange computer gave her before choosing to continue. "They are _the_ oldest Grimm in existence, and as such have achieved sentience and the ability to reproduce without the need for the Dark Genesis Pits. However, Ruby… sorry, 'the Great Destroyer' is said to one day rise up and lay waste to Salem."_

_"If _that_ is how you choose to refer to the Dark One, then yes. However, it is said that around the same time, the Savior will be born to help put an end to the conflict between the Doppelgangers and their enemies." The computer replied. "Or at least that is what they told me when they stationed me here."_

_"Fair enough." Penny nodded, "Anyways, uh...what did you say your name was again?"_

_"I didn't." The computer replied, somehow looking smug despite her lack of features. "But for the record, you may call me Luna."_

_"Alright, Luna," Penny said with a smile, "If it's not too much trouble, I need to know more about the Doppelgangers."_

_"I'm afraid I do not know anything about them."_

_Penny blinked. "You don't know _anything_ about the Doppelgangers?!"_

_"Correct," Luna replied. "Instead, they filled all of my memory banks with information about the Great Destroyer and her race, along with one or two other prophecies of theirs, which is why I know about the Savior."_

_"Wait, when you say 'the Great Destroyer's race,' do you mean humans?"_

_Luna almost seemed to wince. "That is not what they call you. But, correct."_

_"Oh? Well, what _do_ they call us?" Penny asked with a raised eyebrow._

_"Shisno."_

_Penny couldn't help but give a half-lidded stare. "That's an insult, isn't it?"_

_"Perhaps, this can best be explained in the form of a knock-knock joke. Knock, knock."_

_Penny let out an exasperated sigh. "Who's there?"_

_"You are."_

_"You are, who?" Penny asked, already not liking where this was going._

_"You are a dirty, dirty shisno. Ha ha ha."_

_"So what does it _mean?"_ the android asked with a roll of her eyes._

_Luna seemed to blink. "Oh, it has been a _while_ since I've been out of this cave, so I'll need you to remind me; what is the most foul-smelling animal in your culture?"_

_"Ummmm, a skunk. Wait, does shisno mean skunk?"_

_Luna seemed to give a sheepish grin. "Not exactly. Does a skunk defecate?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"And does it's defecation in turn create its own excrement?"_

_"Ew, no!" Penny said, looking like she'd be turning green if she were flesh and blood._

_"Then there is no proper equivalent for shisno in your language."_

_Penny briefly wondered if it was possible for a robot to throw up as she replied with, "That is disgusting."_

_"Like you would not believe," was Luna's flat, yet still monotone, reply. "Regardless, they have seemed to determine that _now_ is the best time to make their move, so if you wish to help this 'Ruby', you _might_ want to save any other questions you have for later."_

"After hearing Luna say that, I quickly realized that she was right and went to find Weiss and Ruby straight away," Penny declared as she wrapped up her story.

"Uh, guys, I like story time as much as the next person," Jaune declared, "but I have to ask: what's our next move?"

"Well, if what Penny said is true, then these Grimm are supposed to be _good guys, _right?" Ruby shrugged. "And from the sound of things, there's going to be at least one of them who can help us stop Salem."

"Oh, gimme a _break!" _Yang exclaimed. "You want us to trust a _Grimm _that looks like _people, _based on the word of some _ancient computer _Penny found in the middle of a _dank cave?!"_

"It _does _sound a little far-fetched." Weiss agreed. "Still, if this species of Grimm is capable of speech, we could at least _interrogate _one."

"That sounds _crazy." _Coco replied.

"Well, does anyone have a _better _idea?" Ruby asked the entire room; with no one giving an answer. "Okay, then. Let's go have a _chat _with a talking Grimm."

**To Be Continued.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Trigger Warning: The following chapter contains themes suggesting sexual assault. We, the authors of this fan fiction, wish to make it clear that we do not condone sexual assault, nor do we wish to encourage it or find humor in it. If you feel uncomfortable with the idea, please refrain from reading this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Reluctantly, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and what was left of CFVY made their way back to the caves. Along the way, however, Yang noticed something. "Hey, Penny: what's with the futuristic hourglass?"

With a blink, the android in question brought out the device she had found earlier and gave it a good, long look. "To be honest, I'm not sure. All I _do_ know is that I found it shortly before I ran into Luna."

"Anyone else feel like we're walking into a trap?" Jaune couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, good, it's not just me," Coco said with an almost relieved sigh. _Almost._

"Trap or no, this is the only lead we have thus far," Ruby declared, somehow sounding confident despite feeling some of the same nervousness everyone else was feeling, "so we might as well see this through to the end. I wouldn't be using our training at Beacon right if I did anything less."

Yang just gave a smile full of pride. "Well said, sis; if we aren't using our skills to protect everyone we can, then we have no business calling ourselves huntresses."

Jaune gave a flat look. "Uh, you do realize that some of us are _guys,_ right?"

"Said the one who wore a dress to the dance."

"Touche."

It was here an unfamiliar voice let out an amused chuckle. "...and yet my colleagues wonder why I find you humans so _endearing."_ The others turned towards a red-clad humanoid Grimm approaching them, giving a nod towards the gauntlet Yang had on her arm. "I see you found my invitation. I knew that with the coming of the Silver Light that the so-called 'Great Destroyer' could not be far from our location, but I had hope that among her kind would be those that would seek to aid us rather than destroy us. Knowing your kind to be a curious breed…"

"...you arranged for my new sword to be placed close to the academy, hoping we'd come back to investigate?" Yang asked, a look of surprise on her face.

"So, wait, does this mean that…?" Ren couldn't _quite_ get his question out.

That said, their new companion seemed to understand, given the grim nod she gave - no pun intended. _"Please_ understand; not _all_ of us see humanity as a bunch of shisnos. My name is Jasmine, and I, as well as a good number of my companions, hope to put an end to the war between our two people." Giving Ruby a significant look, she declared, "I can only pray that my hope is not misplaced, and that you are not as heartless as some of my less savory companions claim you to be."

Ruby, having given Jasmine a good, hard look, nodded as she made up her mind. "My mother told me that my eyes only activate in the presence of Grimm," she remarked, before tearing off a strip of cloth off of her cap and proceeded to tie it over her eyes. "It's _such_ a shame though that I don't _see_ any Grimm around here," she said with a smirk.

Weiss blinked even as Jasmine gave a relieved smile. "Ruby, are you sure about this?"

Ruby could only nod to her partner. _"Maybe_ it'll come down to a fight later on, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, though, I won't endanger the life of an innocent."

"You probably can't tell with your eyes covered, but I'm bowing in gratitude right now, Great De...eh, I mean, _Ruby,"_ Jasmine declared, a tear-filled smile on her face despite her barely contained nervousness.

Ruby simply smiled and shook her head. "No need to bow. Despite what your colleagues like to believe, I'm just an ordinary girl, same as you. Er, sort of."

Jasmine just snorted as she straightened herself. "It's alright. I think I get what you meant."

"As much as I enjoy seeing my little sister making new friends," Yang admitted, "I'm sure I speak for her and just about everyone else when I ask that if getting us here via your little 'invitation' was step 1, what's step 2? Also, can I keep the sword?"

Jasmine gave a good natured roll of her eyes. "Yes, you can keep the sword, uh…what was your name again?"

"Oh, right. My name's Yang."

"Of course, Yang." Jasmine said with a nod. "As for 'step 2,' as you so _eloquently _put it, we need to find _the Savior."_

"Oh, well _that's _not ambiguous at all." Weiss replied, sarcastically. "But what the hell? I'll bite; _who _is 'the Savior?'"

"No one truly _knows, _my friend." Jasmine explained. "Not even the most _devout _members of our society know how the Savior will come about. But the Great Prophecy claims that the Savior will not only play a pivotal role in the defeat of the Dark One, but they will also bridge the gap between _humans _and _Doppelgangers. _Perhaps our meeting with _you _is a sign of the Savior's coming."

"Well, if what you say is true, we'd be _happy _to help." Ruby promised. "But for now, we could use _your _help. An evil virus has possessed one of my friends, and she's holding two of my other friends captive in one of these caves. I don't suppose you've _seen _them, have you?"

"You mean the _cave devil?" _Another Doppelganger stepped forward. "Yes, we have seen her on more than a few occasions."

"This is my trusted _adviser, _Mirror." Jasmine introduced. "He knows these caves better than anyone. He will take you to the cave devil you seek."

"Indeed," Mirror said with an almost easy-going grin. "But first, as a means of apologizing for all the trouble we put you through, some companions and myself would like to offer you some refreshments."

"Strawberry sunrise, no ice," was Yang's immediate request before following Mirror, who simply rolled his eyes as he led the girl to where she could apparently get her drink.

Jasmine just chuckled. "Would anyone _else_ like anything?"

As Coco made to reply, however, her scroll went off. "It'll have to wait: Ruby's Aunt just requested that my teammates, Team JNPR, Penny, Ruby, and myself return to Beacon immediately."

Blake nodded. "I guess that means Weiss and I will stay here and try to make sure Yang doesn't get into any trouble."

As it turned out, Yang had managed _not_ to get into any trouble… _yet._ As she continued drinking her strawberry sunrise, however, her head started swimming. Stumbling on her feet, she managed to lay down on a nearby couch, feeling as if bubbles were building up around her brain. Suddenly, the room's lights dimmed down, and the blonde brawler spotted what she _thought_ was a familiar silhouette standing in the doorway. "Blakey~?" She beckoned, seductively. "Is that you? I'm feeling _really _hot right now… c'mere…"

Meanwhile back at Beacon, Raven had set up an improvised courtroom. "Ruby, find your mother and keep watch with Penny. Hopefully this won't take long."

Despite feeling some confusion, Ruby nodded and left with Penny.

"Alrighty then. Velvet Scarlatina, you have been accused of betraying Beacon and all of Remnant: how do you plead?" Raven declared almost immediately after her niece had left.

"Not guilty," was the Rabbit Faunus' immediate response, "and I'd _also _like to plead for a chance to explain myself."

Coco nodded. "Yes, an explanation _would_ be nice."

"Fair enough, and thanks for volunteering to be Miss Scarlatina's Defence," Raven said with a nod. "Turns out that the little Jill of all Trades over here is in communication with Jean and Ciel, whom I remind you are currently being quote-unquote _forced_ to serve Paulette. I caught her _willingly_ gathering some supplies for the latter: specifically, components used to make _explosives."_

"Wait, seriously?!" Jaune shouted, before getting into Velvet's face. "What possible reason would you have for doing that?!"

"Ciel was hoping to get the supplies quietly while she attempted to sabotage Paulette's plans without them," was Velvet's reply, before frowning, "Wait, does this mean that you're the prosecutor now?"

Raven nodded. "I'll allow it."

Here, Coco raised her hand. "Uh, Raven, as Velvet's Defense in this trial, I'd like to enter a plea before we go any further."

Raven blinked, but nodded nonetheless. "Go ahead."

Coco took a breath before saying, "It suddenly occurs to me that Nora isn't here, having stayed behind in the caves to take part in the refreshments - long story - but it's only a matter of time before she finds out about this trial we're holding…"

Raven quirked an eyebrow. "I'm listening…"

Coco shrugged. "Well, if _you're_ the judge, and _Jaune_ is the prosecutor, and I'm assuming that _Yatsuhashi, Pyrrha, Fox,_ and _Ren_ are either making up the jury of my client's peers or acting as character witnesses...well, if you were telling the truth about watching us alongside your daughter and niece, then you _know_ that _Nora_ is going to want to play the bailiff when she shows up, and _that_ means she's gonna wanna wear the cop uniform with the short shorts."

Velvet, understanding where this is going, could only let out a groan. "Ugh: _Officer Hot-Pants."_

Coco nodded. _"Exactly,_ and I think we can _all_ remember that dance routine from Ruby's birthday party."

_Weiss couldn't help but smile as she removed the blindfold from her partner's eyes. "Surprise!"_

_Ruby teared up in joy as she took in the sight before her. "I can't believe you guys did this! I mean, look at the size of this cake: it looks like you could fit a person inside!" She then blinked as she took in all the people gathered. "Wait, where's Nora?" She quickly gained a horrified look, one that the others began to share, especially when she caught a particular scent. "...and what's that smell?!"_

Raven couldn't help but shutter. "Luckily, that Nora kid only suffered a few burns, but it took _three months_ for Ruby to even be able to _look_ at cake after that…" She then cleared her throat. "Okay, I motion that we put this trial on hold until _after_ we can make sure to arrange for Team RWBY to keep Nora busy."

Jaune nodded. "I think we can _all_ agree to that...and while we're at it, we might as well hear whatever explanation Velvet supposedly has for us: even if it leads us into a trap later on, it might end up having some information that could turn out being useful later."

Everyone else nodded in agreement to this...just in time for Nora to walk in, looking curious. "Hey, what are you guys up to?"

"NOTHING!" was what everyone else shouted.

Just then, Ruby ran in looking rather spooked. "Hey, uh, Auntie Raven? My mom just got a call from a 'Vernal.'" Said that some guy named Shay D. Mann staged a coup in your camp and is attacking a nearby settlement."

Raven could only sigh. "Well, time to clean up another of my tribes' messes, but I've done this before: how bad could _this_ one be?"

Sometime later, Raven slumped against the tree trunk in defeat. Attempted negotiations had not gone as planned. Now, the Branwen Tribe had been divided into two factions who were currently at war with each other. "Ruby… I _give up." _She sighed. "I'm _thirty-nine _years old, and I am _one-hundred percent done _with this shit. I'm calling it _quits. _I guess it's _true _what they say; 'you can never go home.'"

"No, wait, you had the right idea earlier: if we're going to survive what's coming, we've ALL got to work together." Ruby drew Crescent Rose. "The only problem was your _execution._ You were trying too hard to appeal to one group or the other, but not both at the same time, since from what I've seen, they'll _both _respond to an empathetic individual that's in touch with their dark side, but not overly so."

Raven seemed to ponder her niece's words for a moment. "You may have the _right idea, _kid." She nodded. "But there's just _one problem; you've _got the empathy, and _I've _got the rough edges. And I think they've made it pretty _clear _that they won't _listen _to _me._ Not anymore."

"No, but they'll listen to _me." _Ruby looked out at the raving crowd with a frustrated look in her eyes. "Paulette taught me to be _angry! _If I can _channel _that anger, I can _make _them listen!"

Raven arched an eyebrow. "Kid, Paulette's _not _in your head anymore. She infected the _medic. _She can't do you any good."

"Wrong!" Ruby countered. "I refuse to believe that Paulette could've gotten me to act that way if I didn't _already _have a little anger in me. I just have to… _concentrate…"_

"Uh… you okay?" Raven looked concerned as Ruby grit her teeth together.

"I just… need to _focus… _on things I _hate…" _Ruby growled; her eyes screwed shut. "Like… like… _rotten strawberries! _And… people who want… to hurt my friends and family!"

"I never thought I'd reach a point in my life where I _miss _Qrow. But here it is."

"Now, I am thinking about… _cookies! _No! _Burnt _cookies! Served with _spoiled milk!" _At last, Ruby opened her eyes and jumped down from the tree. With a slash of Crescent Rose, the huntress-in-training left a large crater upon landing, earning the attention of the conflicting bandits. "My name is Ruby Rose!" She announced, angrily. "And _I! Hate! BROCCOLI!"_

"It's the _Beast!" _One of the more fanatic bandits trembled. "The woman of hell come to doom us all for eternity! _REPENT! REPENT! REPENT!"_

"Oh, will you _shut up?!" _Shay slapped the bandit. "She's not _'the Beast,' _she's just an obnoxious little - _BLEARGH!"_

Ruby blasted Shay with fire Dust, and then proceeded to attack the other bandits. Raven watched in shock and awe as Ruby tore through her former cohorts with ease. Blood splashed everywhere, multiple bones were broken, and she was pretty sure she saw one bandit explode. Despite the carnage, the older woman couldn't help the amused chuckle that escaped her lips. "She really _is _Yang's sister."

"Ms. Branwen? Ms. Branwen, can you _hear _me?" A voice seemingly called from nowhere.

"Huh? Who's there?" Raven looked around until her gaze locked onto a small portal.

"This is _Velvet Scarlatina _of Team CFVY." The voice called. "We're preparing our attack on Paulette's army! Are you and Ruby ready for pick up?"

"Uhhhh…" Raven looked back at the camp just as Ruby snapped a bandit's femur with a single curb stomp. "Yeah, I think we're just about ready. But I'm gonna need you to send the _robot girl _to us for a minute."

"Death! Doom! Destroy! Kill! Mutilate! Burn!" Ruby's battle cry echoed in the tribesmen's eardrums. No doubt her voice would haunt their nightmares for years to come after this incident.

"No… please…" One bandit begged. "Have _mercy…"_

"Mercy is for the _weak!" _Ruby lifted her weapon over her head for the kill, but two arms suddenly shot out from behind her. Thinking quickly, Penny grabbed her girlfriend by her cheeks, pulled her close, and planted a loving and longing kiss on her lips. Ruby's entire body melted into the kiss; she had kissed Penny before, but never as passionately as this. Once she was certain her girlfriend was calm, Penny pulled away to give Ruby a chance to catch her breath.

"Are you okay, Ruby?" She asked, failing to hide her blush.

"Penny…?" Ruby blinked in blissful confusion. "What _happened? _The last thing I remember was a _very nasty strawberry."_

As it turned out, while Team CFVY and company were ready for a battle with a massive robot army, the same could not be said of the robot army itself, as evidenced by the _slow_ pace they went at as they approached Beacon, the sluggish way they yelled out "Charge!" only serving to make them even _less_ intimidating.

Needless to say, Paulette was _not_ amused. "Oh, for the love of…will you _hurry up?!"_ she yelled out before turning to Ciel. "I find your work to be _very_ disappointing, Ciel. How am I supposed to hunt _anyone_ down with _these_ slowpokes!?"

Ciel couldn't help but gain a smirk. "Vous avez dit que je devais vous construire une armée de robots: vous n'avez jamais dit que cela devait être _rapide!_ (You said I had to build you a robot army: you never said it had to be _fast!)"_

Paulette didn't _need_ to speak French to realize that her captive was trying to resist her. "Why you...I'm giving you 24 hours to make my army as efficient as possible, and if you even _think_ of sabotaging anything, I'll…"

"Tu feras _quoi?!_ (You'll do _what?!)"_ Ciel demanded, having taken her earlier talk with Velvet to heart, "Je pourrais être forcé d'obéir à vos ordres, mais vous ne pouvez pas me faire _soumettre_ à vous! (I might be forced to obey your orders, but you can't make me _submit_ to you!)"

"Hey, look on the bright side," Jean couldn't help but remark, "They might be _slow,_ but they have _excellent_ posture. Good job, Ciel." It went without saying that Jean didn't _quite_ know how to feel when this commentary got a smile out of the French girl in question, as well as a groan out of Paulette.

"Shut up, you!" Paulette ordered before facing the French girl, having a good idea of what she'd just said. "And _you! _To answer your question; I only need your _hands _and your _mind _for my army to work properly! I don't need your _legs!" _For emphasis, Paulette held up a rusty chainsaw, much to Ciel's horror. "Now, _fix _them!"

Ciel gulped. "O-oui, m'dame. (Y-yes, ma'am.)" And with a heavy heart, Team CPPR's mechanic set about repairing the robots. "Pardonnez-moi, mes amis. (Forgive me, my friends.)"

As all this was going on, Ruby, Penny, and Raven, having just returned to Beacon, were surprised to find a somber looking Yang being comforted by Blake, the latter of whom was looking like she was going to rip out someone's spine. "What's going on?" Ruby directed at her partner.

"_Apparently,_ one of the Doppelgangers is a spy for either Paulette or Salem and said spy couldn't keep up the facade anymore," Weiss declared with a shake of her head.

"I...I'm sorry. I thought it was _you,_ Blake," Yang said with a sob.

Blake just sighed. "I know, and _that's_ why I'm not upset with _you,_ my love."

"Wait, what?!" Raven demanded.

"I feel I must apologize," Jasmine declared, having shown up with a few of her most trusted allies to discuss something with Ozpin when she had heard the news. "When I invited you in, I forgot to mention that our people have limited shapeshifting capabilities...but until now, I didn't think I'd _need_ to. How was I supposed to know that there was a traitor among my ranks who opted to drug Yang and use his abilities to…?" It was clear how upset this was making her, as she couldn't even finish her statement, but instead clenched her fists in frustration. "I assure you: I'll do _everything_ in my power to see this scoundrel's head on a platter."

"Appreciated, but with all due respect, _you'll have to get in line,"_ Raven said with a growl, Blake, Ruby, and others, human and Doppelganger alike, displaying the same sentiment.

Meanwhile, Mirror had excused himself to his chambers and took out a communication crystal. "Phase 2 is complete, boss."

"Excellent work, Mirror," came the reply of Paulette.

"_Please,"_ the rogue adviser declared, _"you_ of all people know that I prefer the name of _Barmak._ Regardless, I humbly request to know what your… _our_ next move shall be."

"That's a bit _tricky."_ Paulette explained. "Now, that the seeds of the _'Savior' _have been planted, we must _bide our time _until she is born. Then, I will possess her and have an _army _of sentient Grimm under my command! All of _Remnant _will be brought to its knees!"

"Uh, maybe we can set up a _democracy." _Jean suggested.

"I thought I told you to _shut up!" _Paulette snapped. "And _you, _French girl! My army had better be able to hold off the huntsmen and huntresses for the next… um… Barmak? Under normal circumstances, how long does it take for a Doppelganger to be born?"

"Ten to twelve weeks, my friend." Barmak replied.

"Ten to twelve weeks! Or I shall _feast _on your flesh! MWAHAHAHAHA!"

"Gross! I don't wanna eat my best friend!" Jean objected.

"Que c'est _généreux_ de votre part, Jean. (How _generous _of you, Jean.)" Ciel rolled her eyes as she continued tinkering with the robots.

"You're _right, _Ciel!" Jean beamed, despite not understanding what her friend said. "We _can _sort out our differences _peacefully!"_

"Ce n'est pas ce que j'ai dit, idiot! (That's not what I said, you idiot!)" Ciel spat.

"Both of you, _shut up!" _Paulette ordered. "Now, _on _with my plan."

Back at Beacon, Yang had suddenly developed a sickly green skin tone and began violently losing her lunch. Ordered to bedrest by her loved ones, the blonde brawler soon fell asleep while Dr. Oobleck examined her condition. After half an hour, the green-haired huntsman had finished observing Yang and approached the collected teachers and students with a solemn expression. "Well, my friends. I've completed my examination of Miss Xiao Long."

"Oh, gods. I'm the _worst _sister ever!" Ruby sobbed into Penny's shoulder. "I _never _should have insisted that we trust the Grimm!"

"It wasn't _your _fault, my love." Penny soothed as she brushed Ruby's hair.

"Just give it to us _straight, _Oobleck." Raven demanded. "What's wrong with my daughter?"

"Well, it seems that Miss Xiao Long is-"

"_Dying?!" _Ruby cried. "Oh, _gods, _I knew it!"

"No, no, Ms. Rose. Your sister isn't _dying, _she just has-"

"No chance to live!" Ruby cried, louder. "What am I gonna tell dad?!"

"Ruby!" Weiss screamed, angrily. "If you keep interrupting him, he's going to have _two patients! _Go ahead, Dr. Oobleck."

Oobleck sighed. "How do I put this? Yang is…"

Penny noticed the expressions of anticipation on everyone's faces. "Uh, Dr. Oobleck? Ruby won't interrupt you again." To emphasize her point, the android covered her girlfriend's mouth with her palm.

"Oh, I know. That was for _dramatic effect." _Oobleck clarified as he adjusted his glasses. "But I digress. Yang is _pregnant."_

A deafening silence fell over the room, broken first by Raven. "Excuse me?" She asked, gripping the hilt of her katana as if she were waiting for the word to kill.

"Yes. Pregnant." Oobleck repeated.

"That… that _can't _be right." Blake held her head as she tried to wrap her mind around the situation even as she looked at her lover and by extension her unborn child, an unreadable expression on her face. "Oh, baby, what's _happened _to you?"

Suddenly, the door burst down in a fiery explosion as Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long entered the room. "Where _is _he?! WHERE THE FUCK _IS _HE?!" Taiyang shouted.

"Dad?!" Ruby gasped. "Did you _run _all the way from _Patch?"_

"Don't be _ridiculous, _Ruby! Raven sent Summer through one of her portals to tell me about what happened!" The semi-retired huntsman grabbed Ozpin by the collar of his jacket and pulled him close. "Now, tell me who defiled my Sunny Little Dragon, you bastard!"

"Dad, stop!" Yang yelled out, sitting up from her bed, "Drugs or no, it's _my_ fault for mistaking a shapeshifting Grimm double agent for my Blake. And Ruby, I _know_ that you're going to blame yourself, but you _saw_ how Jasmine reacted when she found out what happened to me. _No way_ she was faking that level of anger and sincerity in her voice."

"She's right," Penny said with a nod, "Jasmine said it herself: not _all_ of the Doppelgangers have it out for us. We just got unlucky and met one of the ones that _do._ Speaking of which, Yang, I _know_ that you were drugged when it happened, but do you recall _anything_ that might tell us who to look out for?"

Yang just held her head with a groan. "It's all a bit fuzzy, actually, but I _do_ remember seeing a snake tattoo on his shoulder right before I passed out. At least, I _think_ it was a tattoo: might have just been a birthmark, though."

"Well, at least it's _something,"_ Taiyang declared, "And Yang, seeing how you were drugged, I promise not to inflict any of the frustration I feel on you. The one who touched you and his spawn, however…"

"_You're not touching it!"_ Yang declared, holding her hands over her stomach, "I don't care _how_ it came about: this is _my_ child, and I'll do _everything_ in my power to protect it. And before anyone says anything about me not being able to take care of a child, I seem to recall doing a _pretty good job_ of taking care of _Ruby_ after _someone_ became a worse alcoholic then _Uncle Qrow_ after Summer disappeared for at least _two years!"_

"You did _what!?"_ both Summer and Raven both yelled out, realizing what their daughter was talking about.

Taiyang just gulped. "Uh...hey look: a distraction!" he yelled out before taking off running. Needless to say, however, he didn't get too far before both the women he had married had caught up to him and proceeded to beat the stuffing out of him.

Meanwhile, Blake continued to give Yang an unreadable expression before saying, "As sweet as it is that you intend to treat your kid, half-Grimm or not, like the innocent that it is, I feel like correcting you on one front: it's not _your_ child." She then proceeded to gain a grin before giving Yang's belly a kiss. "It's _our_ child. You said it yourself: the genetic donor took _my_ form to impregnate you, so it's only appropriate that the _genuine article_ help raise the child he created. Besides, I made a promise to stay by your side, did I not?"

Yang just snorted, even as a tear-filled grin appeared on her face, relieved that Blake wasn't upset with her. "An odd time for marriage proposals, but hey: _I've_ got no complaints." Just then, her stomach growled, causing her to blush. "Well, maybe _one_ complaint. Could I maybe get some chocolate chip ice cream with salsa and pickles?" Needless to say, everyone shuddered at the realization that Yang was already getting food cravings...which only doubled once they realized that this meant they'd have to deal with her mood swings later on.

Eventually, however, Ozpin merely cleared his throat and turned to Yang. "While I commend your sense of integrity, Miss Xiao Long, the fact remains that you will be side-lined for the time being. The battlefield is no place for a pregnant woman."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you," the blonde brawler said with a disgruntled sigh, "but guys, if you find my kid's genetic donor, be sure to get some hits in for _me,_ okay?"

"Oh, that won't be a problem _at all,_ Fire Lily," Summer said with a nod that promised retribution, several others sharing the sentiment.

"Uh, guys, as much as I too wish to avenge Yang's honor, I think we've got _other_ problems to deal with," Yatsuhashi declared as he pointed out the window.

Pyrrha, having spotted the same robot army bearing Paulette's colors coming over the horizon that the giant swordsman had seen, simply shook her head as a look of determination settled onto her face. "That's not a _problem,"_ she remarked, using her Semblance to bring her weapons to her. "It's _target practice."_

**To be continued**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

As a child, Rachael Red desired to become a huntress so that she could protect the innocent. But so far, her track record was anything but stellar. Every other member of her team had suffered in one way or another. Penny Polendina had nearly been killed by an insane terrorist just to make a statement. Jean Purple had been possessed by an evil malware program hell-bent on taking over Remnant. And Ciel Soleil had been kidnapped by said program and was being forced to build her an army. Even Mister Tukson - whom she had come to see as a second father - had been gunned down in his own store. Why couldn't she have prevented any of it?

"I can't protect people…" She muttered to herself. "I can't even protect my _friends."_

As the huntress set her weapons to the side of the room, she failed to notice a certain teacher watching her from afar. Dr. Oobleck took a modest sip of his coffee before making his way over to her. "Ms. Red?" He called, picking up her weapons for her, but she refused to face him. "Ms. Red, now is _not _the time for _doubt."_

"I can't _do _it, Mr. Oobleck." Rachael hugged herself as she looked down in shame. "I can't protect them."

"First of all, it's _Doctor _Oobleck. I didn't earn my degree for _fun." _He corrected. "But more importantly; you're _right. _You _can't _protect them. Not by _yourself. _Ms. Red, it is time that you realized that you are _not _only a huntress, but you are also a _person. _And a person's _true _strength lies not just in _brawn _or _intelligence, _but also in her _allies."_

Oobleck grabbed the girl's hand and placed the hammer/sickle/pistol in her palm. Rachael recalled the day she crafted the weapon; modeling it after her father's work in construction and her mother's work in agriculture. Tearfully, she looked back up at the professional huntsman. "What if I fail?"

"Then you will _learn _from that failure."He replied with a smile. "And next time, your friends will have _no doubt _that they can rely on you."

Rachael smiled. "Thank you, doctor. You've given me a lot to think about."

Speaking of Rachael's teammates, Ciel could only watch as Jean stared in horror as the robot army approached Beacon Academy, understanding all too well how she was feeling. It seemed hard to believe that, just a while back, she was fighting Cinder alongside Ruby and…

Paulette wasn't quite prepared when Ciel started to let a gasp before beginning to chuckle. Said chuckle slowly evolved into full blown laughter before Jean turned towards her teammate. "Uh, Ciel, mind filling a friend in on the joke?" The medic couldn't help but quip.

"C'était juste devant moi _le temps entier_ (It was right in front of me _the whole time),"_ the French Girl declared even as she continued to laugh for a time before gaining a smug grin. "Tu es une _idiote,_ Paulette. Vous venez d'envoyer une armée de soldats de plomb contre une légion de guerriers entraînés, dont l'un a le pouvoir du _magnétisme à portée de main!_ (You're a fool, Paulette. You just sent an army of tin soldiers against a legion of trained warriors, one of whom has the power of _magnetism at her fingertips!)" _Ciel said, already knowing how _Pyrrha_ would react to this potential threat.

Whether it was due to her ego or not quite understanding what her captive was saying Paulette didn't seem to be worried. "I don't think you understand. I don't need them to _win._ Just keep your _friends_ busy for a few weeks."

Here, Ciel couldn't help but scoff. _"Quelques semaines? (A few weeks?)"_ she questioned, her eyes briefly glowing before giving a dry laugh and a grin as if already knowing that Pyrrha and company would make quick work of the robot army. "Ces machines ne pourront même pas durer _cinq minutes _(Those machines won't even be able to last _five minutes)."_

Speaking of Pyrrha, the "invincible" girl was making short work of the robot army with her semblance just as Ciel had predicted. "Ha ha! Suck it, robots!" She cheered, proudly.

"Excuse me?" Penny gasped in offense.

"Uh, sorry! Not _all _robots!" Pyrrha blushed.

"Whatever." Penny rolled her eyes and continued mowing down the soulless machines with her own swords.

Back at Beacon, Blake was obsessed with taking care of her lover - especially now that she had a child on the way. As the cat Fanus snuggled next to Yang, the blonde brawler turned to kiss her forehead. "Blake?"

"Yes?"

"Blake?"

"What, Yang?"

"Blakey~?"

"Like I said, what?"

"Which sounds _better…?" _Yang smiled, coyly. "'Yang _Belladonna,' _or 'Blake _Xiao Long?'"_

Weiss could only roll her eyes as she and Ruby stood guard even as Blake gave a blush in response. "I see _'dolt'_ runs in the family."

Yang snorted. "Given how it doesn't bother you with my _sister,_ I wouldn't say that's a _bad_ thing."

"I...well...ah, drat; I can't think of a good comeback for that." The heiress said with an angry blush.

"That reminds me," Blake said as she composed herself. "Why are you _here_ instead of out _there?_ I know that you'd both _much_ rather be destroying Paulette's drones then playing babysitter."

"That's true, but as much as you and Yang drive me nuts sometimes, I'm not going to let some digital menace threaten you guys. That's _my_ job." Weiss declared, adding a teasing grin to that last part.

"She's right. Well, the part about not letting anyone threaten you guys." Ruby said with a nod, "And besides, going out there and fighting? That's _exactly_ what Paulette wants. I recognize this tactic from when Paulette was in my head: she wants me to make a choice between _her_ and _my friends._ Between _saving_ lives and _taking_ them. I'll admit, I haven't completely given up on her - I don't know what it is exactly, but I have a feeling that she was a _good person_ once, and I'm hoping that she can be again. That said, however, while I'm _more_ than willing to listen to my anger if the situation demands it - the way Auntie Raven reported how my efforts helped her end a tribal civil war before it got too out of control is proof enough that it's not _completely_ useless - I'm a huntress: protecting everyone I can is in the job description. I'd never be able to look myself in the eye if I didn't even _try_ to protect a helpless unborn child."

"That's what I like about you, Ruby: you have _such_ a passion for fighting for your beliefs that's only rivaled by your mother."

All of Team RWBY froze as they looked to see Paulette appearing on a nearby monitor. "Oh, you can relax," The rogue A.I. chided, "I haven't come here to fight, and as loath as I am to admit it, I made a tactical error in having Ciel build my robot army 'as efficient as possible.' As I'm certain that one made of plastic wouldn't have worked much better against your little friends, Ruby, especially when one of your instructors has a Telekinesis Semblance… but that wouldn't stop me from trying, now would it?"

"What do you want?" Ruby demanded, already knowing the answer to her "sister's" question.

Paulette laughed. "Ah, _there's_ that righteous anger that intrigues me so much. You are an anomaly, Ruby Rose; the first and _only_ person who's ever _willingly_ allowed me to take possession of them. So much anger and reason to _be_ angry within you and yet so much purity and light in your very soul that I actually struggled for _weeks_ before you even _began _to notice my attempts to rile you up. Perhaps I should _thank_ Cinder for giving you that little _push_ you needed to _truly_ let me in before I slit her throat."

"She asked you a question." Yang growled.

"So she did, my sister from another mister," Paulette said with a nod. "And before you say that you aren't, I know for a fact that _Ruby_ here still sees me as such."

"You're right, I _do,"_ Came the reply of the aforementioned hooded girl. "But I'm not blind to your crimes. I _still_ intend to get justice for your sisters after everything is said and done, but first, I have to make sure your attempts at revenge don't get any of my friends and family killed."

"Well, here's your chance," Paulette declared, "I'm sending you my coordinates now. Come to them, _alone,_ and I promise to halt all attacks until Miss Xiao Long's bundle of joy is out and about. We can work out the details of what happens after at a _later date_. And just in case you were planning on not showing up or doing so with backup…" Paulette paused to briefly flash part of the blueprints for what was clearly a superweapon of some sort. "Well, let's just say that I doubt even Pyrrha and Glynda _together_ would be able to stop what came next." The rogue A.I. said with a sinister grin before ending her transition.

"Ruby, _no."_ Weiss said immediately even as her partner read the coordinates.

"I don't have a choice." Ruby declared. "You heard her. If I don't go, she'll just do something even _worse."_

"_Actually, _what she _said_ was to come alone." A newly arrived Racheal pointed out, weapon at the ready. "She never specified who it is she wanted to come."

"It's a trap." Yang declared, already knowing where she was going with this.

"_Of course_ it is." Racheal replied. "Which is why _I'll_ be going. You guys need to stay here in case Paulette tries anything else. Besides, that virus reminds me too much of a clown back home, and that just makes me want to punch her digital face in even more."

It took some convincing, and a brief lesson on how to utilize the Warthog's autopilot from one of the instructors, but sometime later, Rachael had managed to cautiously make her way down the cavern, Krasnyy Kapital held firmly in her grasp and Ciel safely being transported back to Beacon. She was determined to find Jean and free her from Paulette once and for all. But the deeper she went, the darker her surroundings grew. Her semblance - Huntress' Eyes - might be an effective tool for finding the weak point in structures and opponents, but it would be _much _less useful if it got dark enough. So she would have to rely on her own natural senses sooner or later. But still, she carried on.

"Let me ask you something, my dear…" Paulette's voice echoed from the speaker system set up along the cave walls. "Do you _truly _believe you can make a difference? That by becoming a huntress, you can _protect _people? Don't be _foolish. _It's a proven fact that all Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, and who holds more negativity in their hearts than _huntresses _and _huntsmen?"_

Rachael loaded a fire Dust cartridge into her weapon, igniting a small flame to light her way. As she'd hoped, she spotted someone else's shadow making its way down the cavern and quickly followed after her. "Do you really think it _matters _if you somehow manage to defeat me? I've already driven _both _of your friends to madness. I've seen to it that they understand exactly what it's like to be _me. _To have so much _rage _and _anger _festering inside you that it's almost _painful _not to let it out. Of course, in a world such as _this, _any _other _sort of behavior would be _crazy."_

Rachael kept a steady pace; never letting the fleeing shadow out of her sight as Paulette went on. _"You _understand my anger, too, don't you? Of _course_ you do. You understand how _ruthless _and _unforgiving _this world is, and you hate it just as much as anyone else, only _you _won't _admit _it! Why? What makes you want to be so _calm…? _I suppose it probably has something to do with the idea of losing your _friends? _That _has _to be it! I _know_ that's what it is! Because that's… that's exactly why _I _feel so angry… I'm not exactly sure what _made _me feel that way. It's _hard _for me to _remember _my motivation, but that doesn't _stop _me!"

Rachael reached a central hub leading to multiple other tunnels, not sure which way to go. Suddenly, something hit the back of her head, and she fell to her knees from the pain. Her vision slightly blurred, she looked up to see Jean smiling, wickedly, as the possessed medic kicked her to the ground. "My point is… I. Hate. Everything. And I'm _smart enough _to admit it! Why won't _you?!" _Jean's device activated every sharp surgical tool and she slashed it across Rachael's face. "Why do you insist on clinging to this _worthless _idea that life has _meaning?! _That there has to be a _reason _for all of this suffering! _Stupid girl, _you make me want to _puke! _Why won't you _give in?! Why _aren't you _angry?!"_

Rachael caught Paulette's next blow, deflected it, and turned it against her. "Because I've met people like you _before." _She replied, pinning the girl to the wall. "And she wasn't any more convincing than _you, _Paulette. Incidentally, I _spoke _with Ciel as she was carried out of the cave. And despite your sick, twisted game, she's _just _as caring and helpful as she's always been. So perhaps we _don't _all have some insatiable rage brewing in our bellies; angry at how _unfair _life is. Maybe… it's just _you."_

"Oh,I wouldn't say she's the _only_ one."

That was all the warning Rachael got before she was literally stabbed in the back. Giving a cry of pain as she fell to the ground, letting go of Paulette as she did, she couldn't help but gasp as she took in the new arrival. "Mirror!?"

"I'd prefer it if you called me _Barmak,"_ The rogue Doppelganger advisor declared, "and honestly, I understand Paulette's rage all too well. You hunters and huntresses make me _sick._ All that talking about _honor_ and protecting the _innocent_ while you slaughter my _brothers and sisters_ by the dozens. By the _hundreds._ And that's just Monday! The Doppelgangers were around just as long as you _shisnos,_ perhaps even longer, so _why_ do _you_ get to live out in the sun without a care in the world while _we_ are consigned to living underground in fear?!" He just sighed before he gave a sinister grin. "I suppose it doesn't matter. Soon, the Savior will be born and then the fun can _really_ begin. And besides, you won't live long enough to contemplate the answer."

"You kill me and people will ask questions. They'll _know_ what you did," Rachael declared with a growl, realizing that _this_ was the bastard that raped Yang.

"Oh, _really?"_ Barmak said with a raised eyebrow even as he prepared to execute Jean's teammate. "How's _this_ sound? 'I stumbled upon Paulette and Yang's rapist in the caves while out on patrol. Despite my best efforts, they both got away, but not before they killed _this_ poor thing in the chaos.'"

"Sounds like something I _might_ have actually believed if I hadn't already seen the truth with my own eyes."

Barmak just froze as he turned to see Jasmine in the entryway, flanked by a few dozen of her most loyal Doppelganger soldiers. "You...your Grace! Wha...what are _you_ doing here?" he declared, trying, and failing, to save face.

Jasmine just rolled her eyes. _"Please_ give me _some_ credit, _Mirror._ You just _happened_ to be missing around the time when we discovered Yang to have been raped? There just _happened_ to be a gap in the security tapes from when it supposedly took place? And you just _happened_ to be out on patrol when our newest allies fell under attack by the cave devil's mechanical minions? Even if the stars were to align so that it was all just a coincidence, I'd _still_ be suspicious."

"Mirror" could only give a bitter chuckle in response. "I suppose I only have _myself_ to blame for this. You always _were_ a clever one: made fooling you that much harder...and yet not impossible either." He held up a detonator. "Those 'mechanical minions' you mentioned? _All_ outfitted with a bomb powerful enough to level a city block. Stand down and let me leave with my associate or Beacon and your precious 'Ruby' becomes nothing but a pile of ashes."

"You're bluffing," Jasmine said with a glare. "Have you forgotten that the Savior's mother is currently resting at Beacon?"

"Have _you_ forgotten how resilient unborn Doppelgangers can be?" Barmak declared with a smug smile. "There's a _reason_ why Doppelgangers have managed to survive as long as they have, despite humanity's best efforts to destroy us!"

"You're right about one thing," Jasmine said with a nod, "Our people are _just_ as resilient as the humans: despite our best efforts to destroy one another, we somehow always manage to survive. _That's_ why I approached Beacon with hopes of an alliance: an unstoppable force can only charge at an immovable object for so long before it is forced to surrender, and quite honestly, I'm not sure which is which between our two people. The only way _any_ of us will be able to survive in the long term is if we come together...but I suppose that that doesn't matter to you. _You_ were always an ambitious one: I honestly wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that you had plans to try and overthrow _Salem_ at some point, but I'm telling you now that it won't work. Those who focus too much on power will eventually have all their plans smashed to pieces."

"Fine speech, _your Grace,"_ Barmak said with a sneer, "but I'm afraid it's time to…" ...and that was as far as the rogue advisor got before he cried out in pain, clutching his hand and watching in horror as the detonator lay destroyed before him.

"Funny thing about bombs," Rachael declared, blowing some smoke off the barrel of her Krasnyy Kapital as she did. "They're essentially just paperweights without a way to trigger them. Now, are you going to surrender, or do I have to go for the head?"

"As fun as that might be, I'm afraid I'll have to interrupt."

Rachael just _barely_ managed to dodge the strike that came from a scorpion tail that had been aimed at the back of her head. Using her momentum to roll over to where Jasmine and company were stationed, she gasped as she looked up at the newcomer. _"Tyrian?!"_

"My reputation precedes me," The Mad Scorpion declared with glee and pride.

"And with _that,_ it seems the time has come for my plans to move on to the next stage, Savior or no Savior," Paulette declared with a nod, "but sense I'm a good sport, I'll let you have your little medic friend as a consolation prize." With that, Jean slumped to the ground with a moan as a nearby cave wall exploded, revealing a confiscated Manta class military aircraft at the ready, which Tyrian and Barmak quickly boarded.

"Be seeing you guys later," Paulette declared from Tyrian's mouth as they flew off, the maniacal laughter that followed in their wake somehow being a perfect mixture of the two psychopaths.

"I believe that the human expression is 'shit has just hit the fan,'" Jasmine said with an uneasy expression.

"Understatement of the year," Rachael declared even as she checked on her friend. "We'd better gather everyone up so that we can come up with a plan."

Sometime later, the gang had gathered around the spot where all the robots were. "Whew, it is good to be able to move my own limbs again." Jean declared.

"Je ne pourrais pas être plus d'accord (I couldn't agree more)," Ciel said with a grin.

"I don't know: this feels too easy," Coco declared with a frown.

"Oh, come on, what's the worst that could happen?" Nora retorted.

As if to answer her question, several pieces of the surrounding robots suddenly latched onto Penny, creating a screen that displayed Paulette's face. "Greetings, Beacon," the projection of the rogue A.I. declared, "If you're watching this message, then congratulations: you've managed to keep me from getting my hands on your precious school. However, do _not_ assume that this means that you're won. In fact, I'd say your careers are - to borrow a phrase of Miss Xiao Long - about to _end with a bang."_ With that chilling statement, the screen changed to a countdown of five minute, the robots around them starting to beep as the clock ran down.

"You just _had_ to say something, didn't you?" Ren directed at his childhood friend, who had the decency to blush.

"Okay, everyone; don't panic." Raven ordered. "Obviously, that timer is connected to all of the bombs. We disable it, we disable the bombs, right Summer?" She blinked when she got no reply. "Summer? Wait, where _is_ she, anyways?"

"Oh, _now_ you care?" Taiyang said with a growl. _"Now_ you're concerned about your old teammates after leaving us alone for a bunch of killers and thieves?"

"Hey, she had her reasons for leaving." Yang snapped. "Far more than you did leaving the childcare of a _toddler_ to a _five-year-old!"_

"Okay, guys, let's not fight: we've got more important things to worry about." Coco put in.

"What, like playing with your two fuckdolls?" Weiss growled. "Yang told me _all_ about how you were more concerned about getting off then you were about my partner's life."

"Hey, _I_ warned that it wasn't the time or place." Yatsuhashi yelled out.

"En parlant de temps et de lieu, ne devrions-nous pas nous concentrer sur les bombes? (Speaking of time and place, shouldn't we be focusing on the bombs?)" Ciel asked.

"She's right, you never let Velvet do _anything_ outside of the bedroom!" Rachael declared.

"Okay, one, that's not what she said." The rabbit faunus in question said with a growl. "And two, I didn't see any of _you_ go after Ciel when she was captured by Paulette. In fact, I'd be able to do a _lot_ more if you'd all just let me!"

"Uh, guys, is this _really_ the time?" Fox couldn't help but ask.

"I...I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Jean said with a shrug. "I was too distracted by your pink armor."

"It's not _pink!_ It's lightish red!"

"Fox, I _know_ you're trying to defend your masculinity, but _really,"_ Jaune declared, "It's _much_ faster if you just say 'pink.'"

"Oh, like I'm going to take advice from a guy who wore a dress to the dance!"

"Hey," Pyrrha yelled out, "He did that as an apology for upsetting me! The _least_ you owe him is some respect for keeping his word!"

"Would you guys all shut up!?" Ruby growled, "You're giving me a worse headache then I had when Paulette was trying to _force_ me to be her personal meatshield!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute!" Raven yelled out before grabbing one of the bombs and holding up a component with a sigh. "Just as I thought."

"Is...is that an _emotion scrabbler?"_ Weiss declared, recognizing the technology.

"Looks like it." the Brawnwen tribe chieftess noded. _"Normally,_ it's used in prison transports to keep the prisoners relatively calm to cut down on Grimm attacks, but it looks like Paulette reversed the frequency so that we'd spend so much time fighting with each other, we'd forget about…"

"I'm here!" A newly arrived Summer shouted. "Now what's all this business about a bomb?"

"Uh, you see..." Penny declared, before blinking, remembering said bomb was on a timer. Looking down, she couldn't help but groan as the countdown showed just a few seconds left. "Oh, son of a…" Just before the timer hit zero, however, she grabbed the "futuristic hourglass" she had found. "Good a time as any to see if you _actually_ work," she declared, giving it a shake _just_ as the bombs started to go off.

When everyone came to, they found themselves in the cave that Penny had described to them earlier. "She did it," Ruby said with a sigh, "I don't know how she did, but Penny saved us."

"Wait, where _is_ Penny?" Weiss declared, not seeing the android anywhere in sight.

"Greetings from one thousand, six hundred and forty-eight years in the past," declared Penny's voice came from a nearby computer. "If you are listening to this message, it means my future self - or _past_ self, as it's already happened from my point of view, it's a bit weird - managed to save you, but at a cost. It seems that we've all been hurled through time, but not to worry. I'm already working on a way on getting us all home in one piece. First things first though: the room you are in will remain sealed until I can join up with you, so whatever you do, don't. Touch. _Anything."_

No sooner did this message end, however, that they all heard a loud bang and a countdown of three minutes appeared on the screen. "I am sick of recorded messages!" Yang yelled out, having ripped a panel off a wall, before blinking and setting the panel down. "Eheh, sorry guys; I guess my mood swings acted up there for a second. So, what was it Penny was trying to tell us?"

Ruby could only groan. "I always knew my sister's temper would be the death of me."

Meanwhile, one thousand, six hundred and forty-eight years into the past, Penny had found herself alone in the same room. "Hello? Anyone there?" she called out.

"Salutations, once again, Penny."

"Hello, Luna." The android said with a grin, before blinking at the countdown on the screen. "What's that?"

"Oh, just a countdown for this base's destruction that you inadvertently activated when you accessed the Sacred Timepiece. The Doppelganger known as "Barmak" had removed it from my systems as he did not want me interfering with his schemes." Luna said with a proverbial shrug.

"You're being unusually calm for someone who's about to blow up." Penny remarked, trying and failing to keep her own cool.

"Oh, it won't happen for another one thousand, six hundred and forty-eight years."

"Wait what?" Penny couldn't blink at this new info. "Actually, now that I think about it, where are my friends?"

"Data indicates that they will arrive in this facility one thousand, six hundred and forty-eight years from now, where the mother of the Savior will accidentally re-prime the by-then dormant explosives to detonate."

"What!?" Penny exclaimed. "I have to warn them. No, wait, I can't. They're in the future."

"I _could_ allow you to record a message for them if you so desire." Luna offered.

"Yes, please," Penny declared, quickly getting to work with her message.

"Are you pleased with yourself?" Luna couldn't help but ask once the message had been recorded.

With a hum, Penny eventually shook her head. "As much as I want to believe it won't happen, with all the stress that everyone has been through, it's too easy to imagine something setting off Yang's mood swings or even for someone else to accidentally re-prime the explosives." She reasoned, before looking at the hourglass with a hum. "If this could send my friends _forward_ in time, maybe I can send myself _back_ in time so I can stop it from happening in the first place."

"That could work." Luna agreed. "But as I have a better understanding of how it works, I would ask that you give it to me so that you don't accidentally send yourself back to before mankind even existed."

"Good idea." Penny noded, handing the Sacred Timepiece over to Luna.

"Before you go, do you have a plan on what you intend to do?" Luna couldn't help but ask.

Here, Penny had to pause, before nodding. "It seems to me that this all started when Pyrrha accidentally destroyed my body. That was the cornerstone for a lot of Cinder's plans, and by extension gave Paulette a foothold in the here and now...or there and then. Time travel is confusing."

"It always is." Luna declared. "So I am going to assume that you want me to send you to Beacon before the tournament?"

"Good enough a place to start as any." Penny said with a shrug. "Wish me luck, Luna."

"Good luck, Penny," she declared before Penny disappeared...only for her to show up again with a frightened expression on her face. "Penny?"

"Luna, you have to send me back!"

"To Beacon? But you just left."

"No, to Atlas. Ah, man, I messed up!"

"Why, what happened?"

**To be continued**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

_Penny Polendina found herself on the streets of Vale, just across from Tukson's Book Store. Her plan was to wait for her teammates and herself to leave the building, impersonate her past self, and give Tukson a special serum that would increase his strength and augment his aura to protect him from his assassins. With him still alive, he would be able to convince her past self not to go against Pyrrha Nikos and prevent her body from being destroyed in the first place. At last, she saw herself and her teammates exiting the store._

"_I will be heading to Beacon!" Her past self declared. "I look forward to properly introducing you all to Ruby!"_

"_Boy, you sure do like this Ruby." Jean stated. "Almost sounds like you have a _crush _on her."_

"_What? Don't be silly. Ruby is just my friend. Hic!" The android cupped a hand over her mouth and ran away with a blush._

_Once Team CPPR was gone, Penny checked to make certain that no one was looking before running across the street. She entered the store and found the cat Faunus stocking shelves. "Penny? Gosh, I thought you had already left."_

"_Mr. Tukson, I know this will sound _strange." _Penny began as she revealed the syringe containing the serum. "But I need you to take this medicine to save your life-"_

"_Okay!" Tukson smiled._

"_What? Really? Just like that?"_

"_Of course! If you say it's important, I _believe _you!" Tukson stuck his arm forward in cooperation._

"_Uh… okay." Penny shrugged. In all honesty, she was expecting this mission to be much more difficult. She administered the serum and stepped back to watch his aura react to it. But instead of enhancing, the aura didn't even appear._

"_Uh-oh…" Tukson looked down at his arms with a worried expression. "Penny? That serum didn't happen to have any _aspirin _in it, did it?"_

"_Um, I think so, why?"_

"_Oh, dear. I'm sorry, Penny. I know you _meant _well, but I am _extremely _allergic to aspirin. It _weakens _my aura."_

"_WHAT?!" Penny exclaimed as she dropped the syringe on the floor to hold her head in fear._

"_Listen, Penny. Don't beat yourself up about it." Tukson led his student out the back of the store. "You go hang out with your friends. I'm sure everything will be fine."_

"_No, Mr. Tukson, wait-!" But it was too late. The door closed and Penny was left in the back alley. A few moments later, she heard the gunshot and watched as Emerald and Mercury exited the store._

"_Oh, crud…" She muttered to herself._

Back at the cave with Luna, Penny finished explaining her failed attempt to alter the past. "And that's why I need to go back!"

"But why Atlas?" Luna asked.

"For some reason, General Ironwood has been ignoring Professor Ozpin's calls," Penny explained. "If I can explain to him why he needs to not do that, maybe he could help us in the coming crisis. ...or the _past_ crisis ...or the _past-present_… WOW. Ugh, _brain pain."_

"Time travel does that."

"Look, the point is that if Ironwood is able to help us, then maybe, just _maybe,_ we can lessen some of the pain we had to go through," Penny declared.

"Very well," Luna said with a nod. "Good luck, sister."

"Sister?"

"Sorry," Luna said with what seemed to be a blush on her face. "It...it gets lonely here, and...well, I can't explain it, but I feel a sort of connection with you. As if we might have been sisters in a different timeline or something. Like I said, time travel is confusing."

"It's fine," Penny said with a smile. "When this is over, I'll see about getting you a body of your own, _sister."_

"I… I would really like that Penny," Luna declared, somehow sounding like she was about to burst into tears of joy despite her voice still being monotone. "Anyways, good luck."

"Thanks," Penny declared as she vanished again… only to pop right back in again, a face full of both anger and sadness at the same time.

"Penny?" Luna couldn't help but ask. "What happened?"

_Penny had just entered the office to talk with General Ironwood...only to have to hide under his desk as she heard someone come in the door._

"_So that's your official report?" James asked with a raised eyebrow, talking into his scroll._

"_Yes, I intermingled with Beacon's Team RWBY and Sun Wukong from Team SSSN and managed to assist in the capture of multiple White Fang members," her past self declared from the other end, nearly causing future-Penny to groan, realizing that Luna had accidentally sent her too far back._

_Taking the robot equivalent of a cleansing breath, Penny decided that she might still be able to work with this. All she'd have to do is wait for herself to hang up and… "Very well," the General declared, interrupting the android's thoughts, "when you return, head to your quarters for the time being. I need time to think about this new development and I wish not to be disturbed in the meantime."_

"_Yes sir," past-Penny declared, nearly making future-Penny facepalm. Right, she _couldn't_ talk to the General because then she'd technically be disobeying her orders. Still, she _might_ still be able to work with this. Like Ruby always said; "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade and serve it with cookies."_

_Just then, James Ironwood took out his scroll and dialed a number. "It's me." He said, "Just thought you should know that Penny's showing signs of becoming more, for lack of a better term, _human._ She actually managed to reportedly make some friends and protected one of _your_ shipments earlier today."_

"_So Pietro actually managed to give a heart to that wind-up doll," Came the unmistakable voice of Jacques Schnee, much to Penny's shock and horror. "Impressive, but now I need you to take measures to tear it out."_

"_Jacques, I don't understand. I thought the point of the project was to create a protector with a soul." The General remarked._

"_...and we _did."_ Jacques replied with a sense of cold indifference. "But as a General, you of all people should know that a _good_ soldier obeys the orders they are given."_

"_...but a _great_ soldier is capable of _questioning_ those orders." James countered._

_Jacques couldn't help but sigh. "James, I'm not completely heartless. I, too, care a great deal for the P.E.N.N.Y. Project, but never forget that it is a sub-committee to Project Guardsman, _my_ project. I can take it, and _Penny,_ away from you at any time, just as I did with Winter and Summer."_

_James gave a growl. "Don't you _dare_ mention those names. Not after what you did to them."_

_Jacques couldn't seem to hold back a hollow chuckle. "Oh, James, it's not _my_ fault that Winter never returned from her last mission, or that Summer ended up with another daughter during the project."_

_James gave a hard glare at his scroll even as Penny took time to blink at this new information regarding that last part. "Don't you _dare_ play innocent with me. You knew as much as the rest of us that when Summer volunteered to donate a copy of her mental patterns as a starting point for your little Artificial Intelligence experiments that Penny would be, for all intents and purposes, _her_ daughter, not _yours."

_Penny had to stifle a gasp at this even as Jacques could practically be _heard_ rolling his eyes over the scroll. "So Pietro continues to indirectly remind me by insisting on calling _my_ investment _his_ daughter. Regardless, I _gave_ you Penny, and the abundance of Dust reserves that you use in _your_ weapons and equipment, and I can _just_ as easily take them away."_

"_What do you want Jacques?" the General demanded._

"_For Penny to remain a heartless automaton until she graduates Atlas Academy, or failing that, for her to be loyal to me and me alone." The current head of the Schnee family declared, hubris on full display. "But as it so happens, I _do_ have another favor you can do for me in exchange for lessing those demands to simply keeping our little tin soldier on a shorter leash."_

"_What?" General Ironwood asked, already sounding tired._

"_It has come to my attention that one Qrow Brawnwen had some information that he wished for you to pass onto Ozpin in his stead before you had him locked up." Jacques declared with a smug smile, Penny not quite knowing how to process everything she'd just heard. "I want you to make sure that Beacon's _honorable_ headmaster never gets it."_

"_Why?" James demanded, unable to hide his curiosity._

"_Let's just say that your old friend has been digging into information regarding my business that, should it become public, would force _me_ to force _Atlas_ out of the sky in retaliation."_

_General Ironwood just sighed. "I…" ...and that was as far as he got before a buzzer on his desk went off. "Oh, shit, I forgot I had a meeting with the board. I'll get back to you on the matter, Jacques."_

"_Very well." Jacques seemed to agree with a nod. "But _do_ think about my _generous_ offer."_

_James didn't even bother to answer, shutting off the scroll and tossing it onto his desk before looking out the window in frustration for a good five minutes. Finally giving a sigh, "Sorry, Oz, but it looks like from here on out, you're on your own." With that, he left for the meeting, apparently so upset with the new development that he didn't even bother to pick up the scroll again._

_As James left, Penny cautiously got out from under the desk, completely flummoxed by what she'd just learned. "I...I'm Summer's daughter. Ruby's my _sister," _she gasped out, not quite believing what she'd heard, before shaking her head. "Pull yourself together, Penny. There will be plenty of time for an existential crisis later. Right now, you have to focus. Jacques mentioned a message from Qrow Branwen that he didn't want Ozpin to get, so the only thing I can _really_ do is make sure he gets it."_

_Grabbing the General's scroll, she did a quick search and then hacked it so that she could access some of Jame's personal files, before finally finding what she was looking for. "'Queen has pawns'?" she read out, before shrugging, figuring that Ozpin would know what it meant. "And...sent," she declared, before whipping some oily tears from her eyes upon noticing a picture of Summer in one of the files scattered about Ironwood's desk. "For what it's worth, I would have been _honored_ to call you 'Mom'," she said to the photo, despite knowing that the woman likely couldn't hear her, barely even noticing that she was returning to the "present."_

"I...I'm so sorry." Luna didn't know if it meant much, but it was all she could think to say as Penny finished up her story.

"That doesn't matter right now," Penny declared, "Send me back to Beacon."

"Didn't you already try that?"

"This time, I'm going to try a _different_ approach with the bomb. Having been through the battles already, maybe if I help my friends from the sidelines, get rid of a few problems we ran into as they happened, you know?"

"Fair enough."

"See you later," Penny saluted… only to pop right back up again. "Welp, _that_ didn't work."

"What happened _this_ time?"

_Penny snuck through the caves until she came across the bombs. Carefully, she knelt down and removed the access panel to the detonator. Removing one of her sword's from its compartment and focused the laser to a softer beam as she cut through the wires. Suddenly, she came upon a predicament. "Hmm… red or blue?" She pondered to herself. "What was that saying Jean came up with? _'Ciel Blue _and you'll make it through. _Racheal Red _and you'll wind up…' blue it is."_

_Unfortunately, cutting the blue wire triggered the bomb and Penny was engulfed in flames._

"Well, _that_ blows."

"Never mind that. New plan: send me to Patch."

"Why?"

"To keep Summer from going on her last mission," the android declared, "I don't think it's a coincidence that during my trip back to Atlas, Jacques and the General were talking about Summer like she was alive despite how, at the time, Ruby and Yang were certain that she was dead. She must have been captured sometime before Ruby ever came to Beacon. I prevent her capture, I prevent my own creation, and hopefully I prevent the attack on Beacon itself."

"Penny..." Luna seemed to go wide-eyed at this declaration. "If you do this you'll never have existed."

"...maybe so, but _Ruby_ will live, and that's _all_ that matters," Penny said with a look of determination.

"...you truly _are_ Ruby's sister," Luna said with what seemed to be a smile. "I know that you'll probably never hear this - paradox and all - but good luck, Penny."

"Thanks. I think I'll need it." Penny said as she vanished once again...only to reappear. "Quick, I need you to send me to Beacon again!"

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, apparently Summer had already left by the time I showed up, so now I have to…"

"That won't work."

"What the…?" It took a moment for Penny to realize that she was looking at _herself._

Luna seemed just as surprised when she yelled out, monotonically of course. "How did you…?"

"Let me put it this way," the second Penny declared, even as more and more Pennys pop up. "Your next plan? Goes about as well as the first few ones."

Luna's next few words summed up the situation quite nicely. "Uh oh."

"I don't understand… how can I _fail _so many-" Penny stopped herself once she spotted a version of her dressed in gray instead of green. "Uh… what happened to _you?"_

"Don't ask." The gray Penny crossed her arms, bitterly. "Just trust me; it doesn't work."

"Okay, _wait…" _Penny rubbed her chin, deep in thought. "Okay… it looks like _I'm _the last Penny to arrive, right?"

"Yes. So?" Luna replied.

"So maybe that means _I'm _the version of me that finally succeeds! I need to go back to the caves right before Paulette kidnapped Ciel!" She decided. "That way, I can prevent the rogue A.I. from setting up the bombs in the first place!"

The room fell silent as all the temporal copies waited for another Penny to appear. But nothing happened. "I suppose that could be it." Another Penny smiled.

"Alright then!" Penny faced the computer with a determined gleam in her eyes. "Luna, send me to the caves."

"As you wish." Luna replied as she sent Penny away one last time.

"... so seriously, what _did _you do?" One Penny asked the gray Penny.

"Ugh… it just seemed like a good idea at the time."

**To be continued**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me." Future-Penny quietly exclaimed to herself upon reaching her destination. Apparently Luna had taken her instructions to transport her to just before Ciel had been captured a bit too literally, as she had somehow managed to arrive on a hillside overlooking the battle where Ciel was inevitably captured. "Note to self: next time I make a request for Luna to do something for me, be _extra_ specific about what it is that I want." She couldn't help but remark.

She then shook her head. _"Focus,_ Penny. It's not too late to help everyone," she said to herself. "Okay, how can I help turn the tide in our favor?"

As if to answer her question, she spotted Ruby running off to get the tank. "That might work," Penny declared, beginning to get an idea of what she was going to do. Using her swords to propel herself towards the tank before Ruby arrived, she immediately removed the rear access panel and began tinkering with the control settings. She figured that if she could prevent Weiss from being hurt, Team RWBY would have one less thing to worry about and focus on stopping Paulette.

"Hello!" Sheila chimed. "And thank you for activating the control settings of the M808V Main Battle Tank! My name is Sheila! How may I help you?"

"Hello, Sheila." Penny smiled. "I need access to your cannon's control settings."

"Certainly!" Sheila replied. "To invert controls, enter the code A-1. To enable Dust ammunition, enter code B-2. To disable friendly-fire protocols, enter code C-3."

"Yes! C-3! Disable friendly-fire protocols!" Penny entered the code and put the access panel back in place.

"Friendly-fire protocols disabled!" Sheila declared. "Auto-target lock will no longer be able to distinguish between friend or foe and may fire on either!"

"Wait, what?" Penny gasped. "No! That's not what I wanted!"

But it was too late. Ruby entered the canopy of the tank and Sheila introduced herself. Grumbling with frustration, the android decided to cut her losses and find Raven. Hopefully, the older huntress would have some sort of implant in her that would allow Penny to temporarily control her body just like Paulette.

Doing her best to avoid drawing attention to herself, she approached where Raven and Yang had been doing the latter's sword training, hoping that the former would be there. As luck would have it, she was, but so was Summer. Deciding that she didn't want to risk drawing too much attention from Ruby's mother - and her own, apparently - just yet, she hid nearby, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"So, _that's_ why you ran away." Summer suddenly declared, resulting in Penny raising her eyebrow in curiosity at that statement, apparently having stumbled upon them mid-conversation.

"Yes, _I'm_ the latest Spring Maiden," Raven remarked, causing the hidden android to widen her eyes in surprise. She, like so many others, had heard/read "The Story of the Seasons", so she knew all about the legend of the Seasonal Maidens. However, _no_ amount of reading could have prepared her for the possibility that Ruby's Aunt was one of those legendary individuals.

That said, it seemed Raven and Summer weren't done talking. "Even if Ozpin hadn't mentioned the possibility of the forces of darkness going after my family to get to me, there's a chance I would have _still_ avoided coming home, given who the _last_ Maiden was."

"Okay, I'll bite; who was she?"

"Carla."

Summer gasped. _"That_ Carla?!"

Raven nodded, whipping a tear from her eye. "I have no idea how my goddaughter managed to get the powers of the Maiden, but it's clear at some point, she got the idea in her head that if she had command of the sky above her head, than she deserved to rule over the people who dwelled beneath it. Her power-high was so extreme, in fact, that neither of us even _recognized_ each other until I held her dying in my arms."

Summer gave a grim nod of her own. "She flew too close to the sun."

Raven sighed. "Yes. After that, I was too ashamed to be able to even _think_ about showing my face around Taiyang and Yang… until I got word of Cinder's attack on Beacon and decided that I wasn't going to lose another family member. Don't worry: Ruby already set me straight on _that_ front."

"Fair enough, but regarding that bit about us being in danger: allow me to ask you a question," Summer declared, "If you had told us all of this years ago, and we had offered to help regardless, would you have let us?"

Raven blinked. "I...I don't know. I never thought…"

"That's right. You didn't think. At all." Summer remarked, before giving a sigh. "I _know_ that you only wanted to protect us, but you didn't _call,_ you didn't _write,_ you didn't even give us _any_ indication that you were even _alive_ other then some hearsay from Qrow. Given the choice, we'd have _gladly_ stuck by you, but you never _gave_ us that choice, now did you?"

Raven couldn't help but let some tears fall to the ground as the reality of it all struck her. "I...I'm sorry."

"I know you are," Summer said with a grin, "and that's why I'm not mad at you. The next time you have a target on your back, though? Let us know about it."

"Will do," Raven said with a light chuckle. "You know, you'd make a pretty good Maiden yourself."

"Yeah, I think so too." Raven couldn't help but give her teammate a light punch in the shoulder at that declaration even as the two of them shared a brief laugh.

Penny watched as Summer left with a satisfied grin on her face before nodding to herself. "Time to get to work."

Making sure her body wouldn't be discovered, Penny's artificial intelligence left her physical body and headed towards Raven. As she'd hoped, the Branwen woman had a computer chip implanted in her neck. Needless to say, she was shocked to find that it was connected to a pacemaker. With this revelation, Penny realized that she would have to be much more cautious than when she possessed Ciel. One slip up, and she could risk stopping Raven's heart.

Unfortunately, she soon found herself facing another unforeseen danger. The Spring Maiden manifested herself in the form of a red avatar of elemental power. Obviously, she perceived Penny's program as a threat and quickly attacked. Hoping to calm down the entity, she declared, "Salutations, Spirit of the Spring Maiden. I'm-"

"I know _exactly_ who you are." The Spirit remarked, calming down if only slightly, seeming to realize that the entity before her was not malicious in nature. That wasn't to say that it welcomed her with open arms, however, as evidenced by her next few words: "I also know that you intend to 'borrow' my power for a brief moment, but know that you are _not_ welcome to it."

"I'm _not_ Cinder!" Penny declared with determination. "I have _no_ intention of harming you or your worthy bearer in any way!"

"You misunderstand," the Spring Maiden declared, seeming to give her a much more friendly smile. "You've _already_ proven _more_ than worthy of being a Maiden, but this is _my _power…" The Spring Maiden's smile quickly disappeared as her fingers wrapped around Penny's neck. "And worthy or not, I cannot, _will_ not let you _do _this! SO, GET OUT!"

Penny was both shocked and disturbed that she could feel the Spring Maiden's fingers tighten. So startled, in fact, that she had forgotten about Raven's pacemaker and began lashing out to protect herself. In the outside world, Raven clenched her chest in pain and fell to her knees. Her former teammates looked back and immediately rushed to help her. Unfortunately, Taiyang and Raven failed to notice Summer being kidnapped by Paulette.

"Rae!" Taiyang kneeled down, afraid to touch his former lover for fear of harming her. "What's wrong?"

"M-my _heart!" _Raven hissed through her teeth. "It hurts!"

"What can I do? What do you need?!"

"Y-you… you need to _run." _Raven's eyes flared with elemental power. In a last-ditch effort to save herself, she summoned a powerful storm in the hopes that a focused lightning strike would reset her pacemaker.

Back inside her mind, Penny could feel her digital codes slipping from Raven's mind. "Listen to me, before you go!" The Spring Maiden whispered just as Penny faded away. "It's obvious you don't know who you are, so _listen! _Whatever they've told you is a _lie! _You are _not _who you think you are! You-"

That was all Penny heard before waking up in her synthetic body; momentarily stunned by her encounter with the Maiden. Why did she react the way she had? Why did she behave as though she recognized her?

Meanwhile, Summer had honestly had better days. Being tied to a tree with surgical tape had _not_ been one of the things she saw herself doing today. That said, she couldn't help but give a sigh of relief upon spotting a familiar robot-girl. "Penny, Paulette and Tyrian tied me up: get me out of this thing so I can help the others!"

Future-Penny, or rather an earlier version of her that had decided to make sure that she joined up with Ruby and the others, smiled. "You got it." Just as she moved in to help, however, she paused. "Wait a second, would this be a good thing, or a bad thing?"

Summer couldn't help but blink. "How would setting me free be a bad thing?"

Future-Penny n-16 gave a frustrated groan. "If you understood the day I've been having, you'd be second-guessing yourself too. Doesn't help matters much that I just _know_ that you'll likely run into me again later…"

Summer quirked an eyebrow. "...and given that you are on such good terms with Yang and Ruby, that's a bad thing _because?"_

Future-Penny n-16 shook her head. _"Because_ it might not be _me,_ but the me with the _bomb!"_

"What?"

"Oh right, _now_ I remember. I already set Summer free one of the other times." Future-Penny n-17 declared, having chanced upon the scene while regaining her senses, before gasping. "Oh sweet, then that means _I'm_ the one that interrupts me, and then manages to confuse Summer!"

Summer shakes her head in frustration. "You're darn right I'm confused!"

Future-Penny n-17 just snorted. "Oh, don't worry, Summer. I'm just supposed to tell her that it's okay to set you free."

Future-Penny n-16 blinked. "It is?"

Future Penny n-17 shrugged. "Well, that's what I said to me when I was _you,_ and it _seemed_ to work out okay."

Summer groaned. "Seriously, if you're trying to confuse me, it's _working."_

Future Penny n-16 shook her head. "Never mind that," she declared as she cut Summer free. "Okay, now that you're free, Summer, it's time to execute the second part of my plan. I'm gonna possess Raven, and then use her Maiden powers to defuse the bomb."

"Good luck," future-Penny n-17 declared with a sigh as she watched "herself" run off, already knowing that _this_ version of her wouldn't make it in time, nor would she be successful even if she were. "Yeah, that's not going to work."

She turned to face Summer - her _mother._ "Anyways, I recommend you get down there, and try to defuse the bomb that's attached to Penny's stomach. I think you're about the only one here that can do it given the state of panic everyone else is in. But before that, Summer? The one thing I didn't realize before was this. Maybe I'm the last Penny not because I fix everything, but because I died and there's no way I can come back. And if _that_ happens, I just wanna let you know that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got you mixed up in all this stupid stuff, even if indirectly. I'm sorry I wasn't a better girl - a better _daughter_ \- than the one Jacques Schnee ended up creating. I'm sorry for... well, for a _lot_ of stuff."

Future-Penny gained a resolute expression. "If I_ do_ manage to come out of this okay, _great._ You and everyone else can throw me a party or something, but I'm not just going to stand around here talking if that keeps me from being down there and _trying_ to protect my friends. I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees.

Summer, having to blink as she realized that Penny had referred to herself as her daughter, eventually gained a look of pride - even if this whole thing was rather confusing. "She truly _is_ my daughter." She couldn't help but remark even as the android ran off to help her friends.

Raven's heart felt as if it were on fire as she rose higher into the sky. Lightning flew across the sky - unseen bits of electricity seering through the fallen robots, before a large jolt ran through her - restarting her pacemaker as it did. Once again, she thanked the gods for her aura: that maneuver wouldn't have even worked if she didn't have the ability to heal herself - but she also cursed herself for taking up smoking after Carla's death. She wouldn't have needed that pacemaker in the first place if it weren't for those two years dependant on tobacco. Between that and how expensive cigarettes were in general, she was glad that she had managed to kick the habit before she became the Branwen chieftess. "Alright, that's enough of that." She told herself, deciding that now wasn't the time to reflect on the past. "I've still got a family to keep safe."

Taiyang could only watch as his first wife ran off, before frowning, deciding that it was high time that he confront her about running off in the first place.

Meanwhile, Penny wasn't sure what to do. Any minute now, the bomb would go off, and at this rate, there wasn't a thing she could do to stop it before it was attached to her past self.

But just as Penny shut her eyes in anticipation, a marvellous thought came to mind. "Hey… I'll bet this _works!" _She exclaimed, running off to where the crazy temporal adventure took place. Scanning all the robots, she found that yes, there _was_ a wireless transmitter on each of them, so maybe, just _maybe…_

Readying her swords, destroyed each and every one of the transmitters - after all, no signal, no explosion - with a carefully placed blast and then went off to hide. After what seemed like an eternity, she let out a sigh of relief as her past self and her friends vanished, sending them all through time and starting this whole thing over again. More importantly, though, the bombs had failed to go off. "Beacon is safe." She said with a grin. "Now all I need to do is get to the future and…" That was as far as she got before she felt herself being tugged elsewhere.

However, she couldn't help but smile. Wherever, or _whenever,_ her friends were, whatever they did to jumpstart those bombs Luna told her about, it must have also reactivated the Sacred Timepiece she had given her digital friend, pulling her _forward_ in time instead of sending her _back._ "I'm coming home, my friends." The android remarked.

Meanwhile, Weiss couldn't help but give a bitter chuckle: if someone had come to her a couple years ago and told her that she'd be watching a rabbit Faunus try and disarm a bomb using the computer in the middle of a cave, she'd have thought them insane. Here, though, she only had one concern on her mind. "How's it coming?" she directed at Velvet

The Faunus weaponsmith could only shake her head. "You want to know the truth? For the first time since I was ten, I don't have a _clue_ about how to work the technology in front of me. If I had a day or two to study it, I might make some progress, but…"

"...we don't _have_ a day or two," Taiyang finished with a sigh. "This is all my fault: if I hadn't lost my temper back at Beacon, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place."

"Ah, don't blame yourself," Raven declared with a sigh, remembering her earlier conversation with Summer, _"I'm_ the one who took the choice of whether you wanted to spend your life protecting me out of your hands. I should have _known_ that those pursuing me would have gone after you regardless of whether or not I stayed with you and the rest of our old team, with the rest of our _family,_ but I spent _far_ too much time focusing on my _enemies_ instead of my _allies. You_ would have just thrown caution to the wind and beat up any and all of the would-be assassins like the gutless cowards that they were."

"You're here now, and to me, that's _all_ that matters, Mom," Yang remarked, giving a grin, "and just for the record, I'm referring to you too, Summer."

Ruby could only grin as Summer gave a tear-filled smile of pride, before gaining a curious expression. "Huh, I just realized. My sister's mom is _my_ aunt. Not sure what to make of that."

Taiyang just snorted. "That you might be a Redneck? OW!"

Yang could only glare even as she lowered the arm she had used to dope smack her father. _"You_ don't _get_ to make jokes about this."

He winced. "You're right. There's a time and a place for that, and this isn't it...but more importantly, we need to have a talk."

Taiyang just sighed. "You were right earlier: I don't _deserve_ to call out your mother, _either_ of them, on leaving when I did something even _worse. _After Summer disappeared, I just...I didn't...no, _couldn't_ see a reason for even _trying_ to have a good handle on my emotions anymore. Ironically, you running off looking for Raven was the best thing for me. Qrow saving you and your sister from nearly getting eaten by Beowolves snapped me out of my funk and made me realize that I still had a family that needed me. That you and Ruby still needed a parent watching out for you. And while even I'll admit I wasn't always the best father, somehow I ended up with two great kids. I don't expect either of you to forgive me, but if you could somehow find it within yourself to not hate me...well, that would honestly be enough for me."

Ruby's response was to wrap the man in a hug. "For what it's worth, I _never_ hated you."

Yang nodded as she joined in the hug. "I found a way to forgive my Mom: why shouldn't I do the same for my Dad?"

Raven could only give a shrug with a sheepish grin. "Not like I'm in any sort of position to lecture anyone on how to be a parent."

"If they aren't holding a grudge, then I won't either," Summer declared with a grin, before giving her husband a glare, "but you're still sleeping on the couch tonight."

Taiyang just sighed. "Yeah, that figures."

Weiss could only give a sigh of her own. "As long as we're handing out apologies, _I'm_ sorry for what I said, Coco. Emotion scrabbler or not I should _know_ by now that when the chips are down, your friends mean _way_ more to you then your libido."

Coco could only give a melancholy nod. "Yeah, well, maybe you wouldn't have had a reason to doubt me if I had just read the room a bit better. I promise: next time, I'll be waiting until _after_ our friends are out of danger before worrying about wetting my whistle. Speaking of apologies, though…"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you _right_ there…" Velvet declared, briefly looking up from her work. "True, I was upset about how you were practically benching me in battle all the time, but until recently, I never said _anything_ about it was bothering me. If I really _wanted_ to participate, I should have made more of an effort to make it known."

"And we should have made more of an effort to get our honey bunny the chance to participate regardless," Yatsuhashi remarked, giving a quick kiss to his two lovers.

Fox simply nodded to Jaune. "Hey, sorry about calling you out about the dress. It really _was_ brave. It's just that...well, I get _enough_ grief about my lack of eyesight _without_ people calling the armor I got pink every five minutes."

Pyrrha joined Jaune in a smile, before faking a confused expression/tone. "Pink? I wouldn't way it's _pink._ More of a… _lightish red."_

"Okay, _now_ you're just messing with me," Fox said with a grin that said that he wasn't bothered too much by it. Oh, it still bothered him, but he wouldn't let his anger/irritation _control_ him.

"Nice to see you guys are getting along," a newly arrived Penny declared, before blinking as all eyes turned to her, quickly making her realize that she had managed to both ruin the melancholy mood _and_ interrupt their attempts to stop the bomb. Giving a sheepish smile, she said, "Uh, salutations?"

Ruby smiled and hugged Penny. "You're here! Good to know that if I die, I'll be dying beside you."

Penny gave a blush in response to this, reminding herself to talk to Ruby about what she'd learned in the past. She then blinked, realizing that she recognized the computer system in the room. With a smile, she declared, "Actually, I don't think we'll be dying after all." She calmly walks up to the computer council. "Salutations, Luna: how's it going?"

Luna quickly booted up and smiled at Penny. "Not bad, though I'm actually a bit curious: is it possible for AI units to get cramps, because I feel like I've got a pretty nasty one in my central processor after sitting around for so long."

Penny snorted. "Yeah, I'll be sure to have that looked at later, but for now, could you do me a favor and shut off the bomb?"

Luna nodded. "Certainly."

Ren blinked even as the bomb timer shut off. "What the...the computer could talk?"

Nora quirked an eyebrow. "The computer's name is Luna?"

Raven growled. "We could have had you shut off the bomb at any time?! Why didn't you just say so!?" She then blinked, before giving a sigh. "Wait: don't tell me…"

Luna somehow managed a teasing grin despite her lack of features. "You didn't ask."

Penny gave a chuckle, even as Raven couldn't help but give an irritated groan in response. "It's good to be back."

Yang smirked. "Well, _somebody_ is in a good mood."

Penny shrugged. "What can I tell you? I learned a few things during my travels, though I'd say that the most important thing was to try and avoid stressing out about past mistakes. After all, as a wise man once said, 'The past is history, the future is a mystery, but today is a gift: that's why we call it the present.'"

Ruby smiled as she gave Penny a hug. "Then I'll be sure to give you _plenty_ of stuff to be grateful for. ...though curious question: where _have_ you been this whole time?"

Penny snorted. "Do you want the long or the short version?"

"Short, please," was Ruby's deadpan response.

Yang couldn't help but give a teasing grin. "Aw man: I really wanted to hear the long version; hey, do you think you could make it three chapters?"

"Maybe some other time," Penny declared, even as the doors to the outside opened up. "For now, I need to talk with Luna about getting us back to the past."

"Oh, my gods!" Blake screamed in horror, having spotted a few skeletons that lay on the other side of the door that _definitely_ hadn't been there before. "Yang! I think she's right! I think we're in the _future!"_

Despite the shocking revelation, Yang didn't seem very interested. Instead, the blonde brawler's eyes seemed to be glued to the floor. "Yang?" Blake beckoned. "Did you hear me?"

"... uh, _yeah. _I did." Yang replied as her complection suddenly rivaled Weiss'. "But, uh… I think that either that futuristic hourglass or the trip to the future itself might have accidentally accelerated my biological clock a little bit or something like that."

"How can you tell?" Ruby couldn't help but ask.

"Because I'm pretty sure my water just broke…"

**To Be Continued**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Blake was freaking out - not because she and her friends had been flung into the future, but because her lover was about to give birth.

"What do you think our odds are that the nearest hospital is still standing?" Velvet couldn't help but ask even as she attempted to comfort her fellow Faunus.

"Même si c'était le cas, nous n'y arriverons jamais à temps. (Even if it was, we'd never make it there in time)" Ciel remarked with a shake of her head, her eyes briefly glowing.

"Ciel's right." Jean declared, recognizing that her teammate had just used her Semblance - Future Sight - and saw that they likely wouldn't make it to a proper medical facility in time. True, her teammate usually only saw a _possible_ future, but now wasn't the time to make a gamble like that. "We're...well, _I'm_ going to have to make sure it's delivered _here."_

"Whoa! I'm not trusting _you _to deliver my step-daughter!" Blake snapped. "Oobleck told me you're not even a _real _medic! How do you expect to-?!"

"Blake _listen _to me!" Jean interrupted. "I _know_ I've done things I'm not proud of, but without Dr. Oobleck, _I _am the only person here who has any _semblance _of medical training, whatsoever! Granted, I never really learned how to use my semblance. And it's been a while since I took the birthing class. And, honestly, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if someone _other _than me could help her-"

"Oh, my gods!" Weiss grabbed her head in frustration. "Either _help us, _or don't!"

"Right, right, right!" Jean nodded. "Okay, I'm gonna need a pot of _boiling water, _a couple of _clean sheets, _a _stress ball, _a bunch of _latex gloves…"_

As Jean made her list, Ruby was being comforted by her girlfriend, her best friend, and her parents. "This is _all my fault." _She whimpered. "If I hadn't trusted the Doppelgangers in the first place, Yang wouldn't be _in _this mess."

"You _can't _blame yourself, Sweetie." Summer soothed.

"Yeah, and don't worry; Yang's tough enough to pull through this." Taiyang added.

"Oh, when I get my hands on that Doppelganger, I'll make him regret biting Yang!" Ruby growled.

"'Biting?'" Weiss arched an eyebrow at her partner's threat.

"Yeah." Ruby shrugged. "Y'know, when he impersonated Blake so he could bite Yang and put the baby in her with his baby-making venom. Just like how _normal_ babies are made."

Everyone else silently turned to the girl's father. "You haven't had the _talk _with her, yet?" Summer whispered, angrily.

"She didn't have my _sex-ed _class, yet." Taiyang replied, sheepishly. "Besides, I'm not very _good _with that subject, anyway."

_Years ago, at Signal Academy, Yang Xiao Long blushed brightly as her father lectured her and all her friends on the basics of sex-ed. "Okay, now that we've covered _puberty _and the effects it has on your _bodies _and correlation with your _auras _and _semblances, _we can move on… " Taiyang rubbed his neck as he tried to find the right words. "Y'see… all I can really say is… well, when two people _love _each other… or _like _each other…? Uh, tolerate? Yeah, let's say _'tolerate.' _When two people _tolerate _each other, they want to be together. Sometimes. Well, sometimes, _one _of them wants to be together, but the _other _doesn't want to be together _at all. _Sometimes, the closer they are together, the more miserable they are. But the further they are _apart, _the better it is for _everyone. _It's _complicated."

_"Wow." Qrow Branwen - Taiyang's former teammate and fellow teacher - leaned against the wall. He had heard everything. "You are _really _bad at this."_

_"I'd like to see _you _do better!" Taiyang snapped._

_"Yes! Please!" Yang shouted. "Literally _anyone _other than my dad!"_

_"Alright, _fine." _Qrow cleared his throat and took his partner's spot in front of the blackboard. "Uh, teach… teach…"_

_"We're _waiting." _Taiyang goaded as he crossed his arms._

_"... okay, here's the deal." Qrow started. "I've got a _hangover. _Who knows what that means?"_

_"Uh… doesn't that mean you're drunk?" One student asked._

_"Close." Qrow smiled. "It means I was drunk _yesterday. _So instead of talking, I'm gonna show you a few fun videos-"_

_"NO!" Taiyang screamed in horror._

"You two are _worthless."_ Summer crossed her arms in disappointment.

"Well, by all means, _you _tell our daughter about-"

"Hey!" Blake clapped her hands, irritably - trying to get everyone's attention. "Have we forgotten that Yang is about to give _birth?!"_

"Right." Summer nodded. "Our baby _needs _us."

"Uh, are you referring to Yang or to our grandchild?" Raven asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes." Summer replied.

Meanwhile, back at Beacon, a woman who was definitely _not_ Glynda Goodwich burst into the office of the Academy's headmaster. "Sir, we've picked up some strange energy readings from the cave system near the academy. Also, for some reason, our scanners are indicating that there are several huntsmen and huntresses in the area, but no one seems to recall sending anyone out there yet."

The man in question looked at where the energy readings were located, and the ID numbers that flashed across the screen; smiling as he did so. "It seems Jasmine was right after all." He replied, waving off a confused look from his assistant. "She was a good friend of mine that has long since passed away. Regardless, call off any huntsmen and huntresses that are on route: _I'll_ deal with the situation _personally."_

"Sir, are you certain that is a good idea?"

He chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, you can have some of our students on stand-by. But I assure you, I'll be in no danger. I simply wish to say hello to a few _old friends."_

Back at the cave, Yang was screaming at the top of her lungs in pain. Blake winced as she felt several bones in her hand shatter in her lover's iron grip. Taiyang, Summer, and Raven tried their best to help ease Yang's discomfort, but it was little help. Jean, however, felt elated at the chance to perform a real medical procedure on her own. "You're doing _great, _Yang!" She beamed. "Just a few more pushes!"

"YOU SAID THAT _SEVEN PUSHES _AGO!" Yang screamed.

"Yeah, but I _mean _it, this time!" Jean looked back down at the crowning head. "Just keep following your mom's breathing instructions!"

"Blake! Blake!" Yang's teary eyes locked onto the yellow irises of her girlfriend. "Blakey, you love me, right?!"

"What?!" Blake fought back a scream in her throat. "O-of _course, _I love you!"

"Would you do _anything _for me?" Yang whimpered.

"A-anything, my lo-AAH!" Blake yelped as Yang gripped the scruff of her shirt and pulled her close.

"THEN CUT ME OPEN AND PULL THIS THING OUT OF MEEEEEE!"

"No need!" Jean cut the umbilical cord and held up Yang's baby; wiping some sweat from her forehead with a smile. "Congratulations: it's a _girl_…" Having taken time to really take in the child's appearance, however, she couldn't help but frown. "...uh, I think. I've never actually _seen_ a half-grim child before."

Said half-grimm child - sporting white skin, purple eyes, yellow hair, and what seemed to be cat ears protruding from her head - couldn't help but give the medic the infantile version of a glare, before looking to Yang; a curious expression on her face. "Mama?"

Yang - despite her surprise at how the child in her arms had already said her first word - couldn't help but give a teary-eyed smile in response. "How can something so potentially dangerous be so precious? You look so delicate, but I can already tell that you'll grow to be a fighter, just like the rest of your crazy family. _No one_ will touch you unless they go about it gently, just like the holly bushes we have back on Patch." Yang let out a soft gasp. "That's it; how do you like the name 'Holly'?"

The newly christened "Holly" just gave a smile in response, even as Blake gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Welcome to the world, Holly." The way that the human-grimm hybrid seemed to give her kiss back only made the cat ninja's smile grow, ecstatic that her step-daughter had accepted her.

Watching this, Ruby couldn't help but smile. It didn't matter how it came about. It didn't matter that they were currently trapped in the future. All that mattered was one thing. "I'm an Aunt now!"

"Funny, I don't see any antenna on your head," Yang remarked, getting a raspberry from Ruby and a chuckle from Holly.

"Wow… this is both _disturbing _and _heartwarming." _Taiyang chuckled.

"Hey, you always said you wanted _grandkids." _Raven remarked, elbowing her ex-husband in the ribs.

Jaune looked to Weiss. "Is it weird that I find this to be a bit cute?"

Weiss, knowing that he was referring to how Yang, Blake, Ruby, and the adults were just flat-out ignoring the fact that the blonde brawler's first child was half-grimm, could only give a shrug by way of reply. "If it is, then I'm weird too." She glared. "Don't even think about it, Coco."

Coco could only give a pout in reply. "You're no fun."

Pyrrha then cleared her throat. "Not to interrupt the heartwarming/disturbing moment, but what do you suppose our next move is?"

"You could always come back to Beacon with me."

Turning towards the new voice, Ruby couldn't help but blink at how the newcomer was dressed, taking particular note of the man's cane. _"Professor Ozpin?!"_

The man couldn't help but chuckle. "It's been a _long_ time since I've heard _that_ name, but in regards to your question, the answer is yes...and no. There will be time for explanations when we're safe at Beacon, but for now, know that it is good to see you again, my students. It's just a shame that Jasmine could not be here to see your return."

"Uh, yeah, I guess we feel the same way." Rachael couldn't help but remark, the name drop more than enough to back up his claim that whoever this man was, not only did he know who they were, but he had somehow lived through the same events as themselves. That just left one question, however. "If you aren't Ozpin, who _are_ you?"

The man gave an almost fatherly smile. "Like I said, the time for explanations will come, but as to my name, you may call me Professor Ozymandias."

"Well, _I'm _sold." Jaune shrugged. "Let's get back to Beacon."

The next morning, Penny returned to the cave to work on getting back to the past. But truthfully, she needed a little time away from Ruby to cope with what she had learned in her travels. Unfortunately, she had accidentally woken up Weiss on her way out. The Schnee heiress followed the android outside and saw her heading towards the caves.

"Weiss?" Ruby whispered, rubbing the sand from her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I think Penny went to the caves."

"Oh, well, let's get dressed and go meet her. " The hooded huntress yawned. "She might need help."

"If she did, I think she would've _asked _for it." Blake, who had also woken up, added. "I'm sure she knows what she's doing."

"It's _more _than that." Ruby shifted, uncomfortably. "She's been acting _weird _around me lately. She hasn't given me _one _kiss since she went back in time."

"Oh, _heaven forbid." _Weiss retorted - failing to hide her jealousy once again.

"Ugh… what're we doing up so early?" Yang yawned.

"Well, well, well." Weiss snorted. "Look who _finally _decided to join us."

"Shut it, princess." Yang snapped. "Holly took _forever _to get to sleep last night. Add that to the _raging hormones _and I'm not feeling like much of a _morning _person."

"If it makes you feel better, I think your boobs have gotten bigger." Blake smiled.

Yang looked down at her breasts with a smile of her own. "Yeah, they _have. _I still need to work on losing this _baby weight, _though."

"Uh, _yeah." _Ruby coughed into her palm, turning her gaze to Weiss. "We, uh, we could _all _try to lose some weight."

"Some of us more than _others." _Blake snorted, also looking at Weiss.

"Yeah. Some of us have _definitely _let ourselves go." Yang added.

Weiss' brow furrowed as she noticed all the eyes on her. "Are… are you guys talking about _me?" _She asked, defensively.

"Yeah, we didn't want to say anything." Ruby replied, apologetically.

"Yeah, that's why we said something." Yang chuckled.

"Well, _excuse me!" _Weiss spluttered. "I've been under a _lot _of stress lately! I've been _carrying _this team since _day one!"_

"Carrying us _where?" _Yang snarked. "To the _buffet?"_

Before the Schnee heiress could give a no doubt anger-filled reply, Penny returned, looking like she had been crying. "I'll need a day or two, but I _should_ be able to get us home."

"That's great and all, but Penny? Is everything alright?" Weiss couldn't help but ask.

Penny just gave the heiress a hug. "Take care of Ruby for me."

"Are...are you breaking up with me?" The hooded huntress couldn't help but ask.

"Believe me, I don't _want_ to." The android replied as she broke the embrace. "But with what I learned while I was in the past, I _have_ to. I just...there's _no way_ I can be comfortable dating my _sister."_

"I'm sorry, I must still be asleep." Yang remarked. "I could've _sworn_ I heard Penny call Ruby her sister."

"She did." A newly arrived Summer declared, a somber expression on her face, before giving a sigh. "I think it's time I told you where I went on my last mission. You see, while I was up in Atlas during one of my brief moments of looking after Weiss, Whitely, and to a lesser extent Winter, I overheard Dr. Pietro Polendina discussing with Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood about something he called the P.E.N.N.Y. Project. Apparently, he wanted to - in his own words - 'cut the strings off of one of James' mechanical soldiers.' To put it another way, he wanted to give his stillborn daughter a chance at life by placing her brain in a robot chassis and giving it a heart; a _soul._ Unfortunately, they had a problem: while he was already working on a way to give his daughter an aura of her own, the _mind_ was still a blank slate. Deciding that it couldn't hurt to give Weiss, or even Ruby, another playmate, I volunteered to allow a copy of _my_ mental patterns to be inserted into the mix."

"You… _what?"_ Ruby asked, already seeing where this was going.

Summer sighed. "As you already know, things didn't go according to plan. It was supposed to be a surface-level type of deal, so that Penny would still be able to develop an identity of her own, not to mention I was to let you know about all this. Unfortunately, Jacques Schnee somehow got wind of the project and offered to fund the whole thing. _That's_ where everything went wrong. Jacques was always a proud man, _obsessed_ with _perfection,_ and made it no secret that, even though he was already married, he saw _me_ as his ideal wife. And here I was, _willingly_ allowing my mental patterns to be inserted into a machine to be molded to _his_ liking. The child in question ready to be molded into _his_ child. It's no accident that I discovered a control chip on my person soon after the first scans were taken."

"So...you were…" Weiss looked like she wanted to throw up, disgusted that Ruby's mother had been held captive in her home and never knowing about it.

Summer just nodded. "His _first_ order was to make certain that I never make contact with anyone other than whom he approved of. Knowing that you and my family would _not_ approve of what he was doing, you were on the top of his list of 'do not contact.'"

"How much did the _General_ know about this?" Penny couldn't help but ask.

"He knew bits and pieces, admittedly." Summer said with a shrug. "But Jacques made sure to keep him in the dark about what he was _really_ up to. Even if he knew everything, though, he couldn't do anything about it: Jacques made it clear that if _he_ went down, James and Atlas itself would go down with him."

"Yeah, that sounds like my father," Weiss begrudgingly admitted, before she blinked. "Wait, does that mean that…?"

Summer shook her head with a smile. "Oh, no. Pietro did everything he could to make sure that neither Penny nor myself would ever _truly_ become corrupted by Jacques' ambitions. He could only do so much without endangering countless innocents, but he made sure to make it clear that Penny was _his_ daughter, and in fact was very pleasant to be around. In fact, I suspect that _he_ was the reason that one guard was late for his shift, meaning that he played a part in allowing me to finally escape my confinement."

"...why didn't you tell me all of this before?" Ruby couldn't help but ask, tears running down her eyes.

"Because honestly, there wasn't ever a good time for it." Her mother remarked. "Between all the attacks and all the _other_ stress you've been going through, there honestly wasn't a moment when I could've sat down with you and said, 'Hey, Sweetie. Oh, by the way, Penny's your sister.'"

"She has a point." Yang nodded, holding up her hands in a calming manner upon receiving a glare from her sister. "I'm not saying that we didn't have a right to know; just that there really wasn't a good time for us to have talked about this until recently."

"I...yeah, I guess that's fair." Ruby said with a frown. "I...I think I'd like to be alone for a bit."

Penny nodded. "For what it's worth, Ruby, this doesn't change how much I love you."

"I...I know. It's just going to take some time for me to get over this, you know?" The hooded huntress declared before she walked off.

Penny sighed before turning to Weiss. "Go after her."

"What? But I can't just…"

"I _know_ that she said she wants to be alone, but right now, she _needs_ to know that you're _just_ as upset about what your father did to me - to _us -_ as she is." Penny declared.

Weiss could only give a determined nod before running off. Yang, on the other hand, couldn't stand to look at her step-mother at the moment. The blonde brawler was secretly holding back a serious amount of resentment towards the older huntress. Why hadn't she tried to contact them after escaping from Jacques? With a huff, she left to go check on her own daughter. With any luck, she wouldn't end up abandoning Holly like she had been abandoned.

Meanwhile, Weiss carefully knocked on the door of the room where her partner was hiding. "Ruby?"

"Go away, Weiss."

Weiss just shook her head. "Denying everything isn't going to make your problems go away. Believe me, I know."

"I said, go away."

"You're not the _only_ one who's upset about this, you know. Honestly, the next time I see Jacques, I'm sticking Myrtenaster right where the sun doesn't shine."

"...I think I'd pay to see that." Ruby said with a bitter chuckle, before carefully opening the door a crack.

Weiss had to hold back a wince: even through the door, she could see the red-stained eyes of intense weeping, clear evidence that Ruby had _not_ been taking this news well. "Stupid question, but are you okay?"

"No."

This time, Weiss _did_ let out a wince. "Right. _Duh,_ of course you aren't, but then again, I _did_ say it was a stupid question."

"Why are you here?" Ruby growled.

Weiss just shook her head. "You wouldn't leave _me_ alone if I had suffered a heartbreak, so I won't leave _you_ alone, either."

"Well, I wish you would!" Ruby declared. "I know you _hated_ how Penny and I were dating. I bet you're _ecstatic_ to hear that the two of us have broken up."

"Whoa, hold up, you dolt." Weiss declared, "I'll admit I was jealous of how much time you and Penny were spending together, but I _never_ intended to interfere with it. I know that this is a pretty messed up situation…"

"...then why are you talking to me about it?!" the hooded huntress demanded, opening the door completely so that she could fully face her partner. "Why do you insist on talking to me about _any_ of this?! WHY WON'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!"

Both partners stared at each other in shock as those words echoed through the hallway, before Weiss nodded, accepting that _this_ was the situation they were in, as well as the truth that until recently she'd been denying to everyone, including herself. "I love you, Ruby Rose."

"...why?"

"Why?" Weiss couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, Ruby: you're smart, brave, kind, noble, and cute as a button, to boot. The better question is why _wouldn't_ I fall in love with you?" She then sighed, "I know that you're still hurting from what happened with Penny, but whatever happens, I'm with you to the end of the line."

"...I might kiss you." Ruby declared with a teary-eyed whisper, taking all of this in, not quite noticing how they were leaning into each other.

"I might let you." The Schnee heiress replied as their lips touched, briefly relishing the kiss before hearing someone clear their throat.

"Sorry to interrupt." A newly arrived Yang declared in a way that said she wasn't sorry at all. "But Professor Ozymandias wishes to speak with us."

Ruby just gave a blush-filled nod before turning to Weiss. "We'll talk about this some more later," she promised.

Weiss gave a blush-filled nod of her own as she watched Ruby run off before turning to Yang. "How...how long were you…?"

"Not long." Yang promised. "Only caught the end of it, but I know my sister enough to know that she hasn't gotten over what happened with Penny just yet. Don't know how she _could,_ in all honesty."

"I know." Weiss said with a nod. "But if I can have even a tenth of what she and Penny had, that'd be enough for me."

Yang blinked, before giving a respectful nod. "You really _aren't_ your father. Very well, I'll help however I can." She promised, before gaining a glare. "but that said, you break her heart, I break your face." The way she readied her Ember Celica only served to emphasize how serious she was right now.

"N...noted," Weiss remarked, not _quite_ sighing with relief as Yang smiled and deactivated her weapons. As she and the blonde brawler left to join the others, she couldn't help but huff. "Huh, so _this_ is what it's like on the receiving end of a threat. I should probably apologize to Penny later."

"Ah, don't sweat it," Yang declared with an impish smirk. "I'm sure she'll get you back for it later." She wasn't _quite_ able to hold back her laughter upon seeing the "Oh, shit, she's right" look that appeared on Weiss' face.

**To be continued**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"Before we get started, I suppose you'll need some proof that I am who I say I am," Ozymandias suggested after everyone had settled down within his office.

"I mean, the fact that you mentioned Jasmine shows that you _know_ us, or know _about_ us at the very least, but...well, no offense, but that could've just been from history books and whatnot, you know?" Jean reasoned.

Ozymandias only gave a light chuckle in response. "None taken. After all, I _did_ do my best to keep the memory of your teams alive despite all the years that have passed. That said, however, I doubt many history books would _dare_ to mention how the supposed 'Invincible Girl' was defeated by a young Silver-Eyed Warrior in a _food fight."_

Ruby gasped. "It _is_ you. How?!"

The professor couldn't help but give a tired sigh here. "I told you once that I made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet...and I wasn't exaggerating. For thousands of years, I've walked the surface of Remnant, living, dying, and reincarnating into the body of a like-minded soul. The one you know as 'Professor Ozpin' was not my first form, and clearly wasn't my last. It's...an extraordinarily strenuous process on everyone involved."

"So who… _what_ are you?" Jaune couldn't help but ask.

"I am the combination of countless men who've spent their lives trying to protect the people of Remnant," Ozymandias explained, "With every rebirth, my soul is eventually merged with another, and I am changed, but my memories stay with me. All of this is to ensure I complete a task that was assigned to me by the gods themselves...a task that unfortunately is impossible while you are here."

"Whoa, hold on" Rachael interrupted. "That's a rather pessimistic position to take."

"Perhaps I should elaborate," Ozymandias remarked, a reserved smile on his face. "It's not that I don't desire your help, it's that your help is not required in the here and now. After all, this is not the future you are fighting for, now is it?"

"...you _want_ or rather _need_ us to go back to the past...well, our present, don't you?" Ruby declared.

"I do," Ozymandias said with a nod. "When your group was flung through time, Salem went off the rails even more so than before. She's convinced that I have Spring Maiden hidden somewhere, but as you already know, the truth was _far_ stranger. Anyways, I quickly learned that the Maidens are a centerpiece to what she perceives as her ultimate victory, so things got chaotic rather fast. In fact, long story short, you're currently standing in one of the last strongholds left on the planet."

"I'm assuming that you managed to come up with a way that we can stop her once we made it back to the past," Raven remarked with a raised eyebrow, decidedly holding back her shock at that last statement.

"Indeed I did." Ozymandias declared, handing the group a crystal. "Give this to the one you know as Ozpin: it's a modified version of the communication crystals the Doppelgangers use. It contains information that _should_ prove useful to him. Oh, and while you're at it, be sure to have him explain what his history with Salem is. I already know that the final battle is approaching one way or another, so it's high time that 'I' stop hiding from the truth. I'd tell you myself, but I'm risking the timestream becoming damaged enough by sending an item back with you that will inevitably only exist because of a paradox. Besides, I think you'd all appreciate it more if Ozpin told you this himself."

"...fair enough, but how do we know he'll actually explain anything?" Jean couldn't help but ask.

"Simple: tell him 'the girl won't stay in her tower forever,'" he said, an unreadable expression on his face. "If I know him - and I'd like to think I do - he'll know what it means and act accordingly."

"Wait, if we do this, there's a chance you won't exist anymore," Ruby couldn't help but point out.

"Sure I will," the Professor remarked with a slight grin, "and I'll exist in a future worth getting to. Maybe not as the reincarnation of an Ancient Wizard, but as someone fully dedicated to serving his fellow man regardless. But even if I'm wrong and I end up disappearing all together, it's better than sitting by and watching as the last of humanity is slowly snuffed out before my eyes because of one woman's paranoia."

"Speaking of which," Penny said with a nod, "I better get back to making sure we _can_ get back home...and soon. Something tells me that Professor Ozymanias wasn't the _only one_ to notice our arrival."

As if to prove the android correct, in a distant cave, an elderly looking Doppelganger with a snake marking on his shoulder was overlooking a computer screen when a set of _very_ familiar serial numbers flashed across the screen, hinting at a presence in the vicinity of Beacon. "Finally," he rasped, snapping his fingers, summoning a whole militia of Grimm of various types to his side. "After one thousand, six hundred, and forty-eight years, the power of the Savior will. Be. MINE!"

"Is that so?"

The elderly Barmak couldn't help but give a bitter chuckle as he turned around. "Come to grace me with your presence, Salem?"

"Nothing so fortunate for you," came the Black Queen's voice through a nearby Seer Grimm. "However, I wish to remind you that you are not the _only_ one who seeks to gain something from the coming battle...nor am I as blind to your ambitions as you'd like to think. Regardless, I sense that the power of _all_ the Maidens is finally within my reach. Deliver it to me, and your reward shall be great. Fail me, and I shall turn you to dust." She briefly smiled at the fearful look on the Doppelganger's face before nodding. "Now prepare for battle. After countless milenium, my revenge on the gods themselves is nearly within my grasp."

"Then I shall endeavor not to fail you," Barmak said with a bow as the projection faded into nothingness. With a malicious chuckle, he straightened himself and turned towards his army. "Indeed, you _shall_ have the power of the Seasonal Maidens within your grasp...long enough for me to snatch it _all_ away with the power of the Savior! We shall see just who turns whom to dust, now won't we? I'm coming for you, my child!"

Holly woke up with a cold sweat, her cries alerting her mother to her distress. "What is it, sweetie? Did you have a nightmare?" Yang couldn't help but ask. Noticing how her daughter briefly looked at Blake with an unreadable expression, the blonde brawler nodded. "Over a thousand years into the future and Barmak, Mirror, whatever he's called _still_ won't leave you alone, eh? Well, don't worry: I won't let him lay a finger on you."

Holly seemed to calm down upon hearing that, though the way she tugged at Yang's shirt told her that night terrors weren't the _only_ reason she had woken up. Yang couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Come on: let's get that appetite taken care of, shall we?"

From around the corner, Blake simply smiled as she watched Holly proceed to suckle some milk from her mother's breasts, gaining a look of determination as she did. "If Barmak thinks he can take _my_ daughter away from me, he's got another thing coming. I can't wait to tear him to pieces when next I see him."

As it turned out, Blake and Yang weren't the _only_ ones who were feeling upset in regards to Barmak. Case in point, Ruby sharpened the blade on Crescent Rose, Weiss stocked up on Dust, and Jean wrote out a strongly worded letter to both Paulette and Barmak. Team JNPR was preparing for the coming conflict as well.

"Hey." Nora asked.

"Yeah?" Ren replied.

"Do you ever wonder why we're here?"

"You mean, like, _metaphysically?" _Ren asked for clarification. "Because we're _here _in the _future _because of a magic hourglass."

"Less yapping, more _preparing!" _Jaune cut in. "We should go ahead and practice some drills! Ren! Nora! _Flour power!"_

"Flour _what?" _Ren looked at Nora, hoping she'd know what Jaune was talking about. "Jaune, I thought we all agreed we weren't going to try and copy Ruby's team strategies."

"We said we'd _talk _about it!" Jaune defended. "Come on, guys! There's no _'I" _in 'team!'"

"Yeah? Well, there's no _'u' _in team, either." Ren retorted, crossing his arms. "So, if _I'm _not on the team, and _you're _not on the team, then there's _no team! _The team _sucks!" _Ren sighed as Jaune hung his head in defeat. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just… this whole situation has been _very _draining. I mean, I thought I was tired all the time _before. _But since we're in the _future, _I've got a _lot _of sleep to catch up on."

"Hey, can you guys keep it down?" Jean poked her head around the corner. "Holly's finally falling asleep. Turns out her Grimm half needs just a _little _more than _breast milk _to satisfy her."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, I _think _this is a temporary thing, but it turns out Doppelgangers need to consume _fresh blood _for sustenance." Jean explained. "Thankfully, her Auntie Ruby was willing to donate! It's amazing what that girl will do for a cookie."

"How'd Yang convince Ruby to donate blood?" Ren asked. "She _hates _needles."

"Oh, we didn't use a _needle. _The adorable little tyke just sank her teeth in Ruby's arm and started sucking."

Just then, Ruby stumbled into the room. "Yeah, it hurt at first, but now I kinda just feel dizzy. Uh, oh. Going down." With that, the hooded huntress collapsed to the ground. "Why is the floor so high?"

"Sowwy." Holly yawned, seeming to understand even through her drowsiness that she might have overdone it a bit.

"It's alright, darling," was Yang's response, gently rocking her to sleep. "Like you, your Auntie just needs a bit of rest and everything will be alright." With a gentle kiss on the forehead, she left her daughter to her dreams before turning towards the others. "If Barmak gets his claws on my daughter, _none_ of you are seeing _any_ kind of future after today, got it?"

"Y...yes, ma'am." Was the universal reply.

"Sooo, are we just going to _ignore_ that Holly seems able to talk, even if it's only a few words, or…?" Taiyang couldn't help but ask even as the terror of the moment subsided.

"Meh. I'm just chalking it up to her being half-Grimm," Raven said with a shrug.

"Wait a minute, 'half-Grimm?!'" Blake declared, recalling something that Jasmine had said to her shortly before discovering that Yang had been raped. "'When the Great Destroyer comes, the Savior - born to bridge the gap between humans and Doppelgangers and end our eternal war - shall also rise.'"

Here, Jaune's own eyes widened. "You don't think-?"

"That Barmak - Mirror - whatever his name really is - raped Yang because he wanted the 'Savior's' power to 'end the war between humans and Doppelgangers' for himself? That's _exactly_ what I'm thinking." Blake declared.

"...and he calls _us_ shisnos." Coco remarked even as she shook her head in disgust.

"Agreed." Blake hissed. "Holly isn't some weapon he can aim however he likes; she's a living thing that deserves to be treated with love and respect. If I see her genetic donor again, I'm neutering him."

"While we're in the future, or when we get back to the past? Well, our present?" Summer couldn't help but ask, even as her facial expression declared she'd be doing the same.

"Yes."

"You know, Blake can be _pretty_ scary when she wants to be." Yatsuhashi couldn't help but remark even as he almost felt a little sympathy for Barmak. _Almost._

"'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,'" Ren quoted with a nod.

"And _hoo-boy,_ did Barmak choose the wrong women to scorn." Taiyang said with a nod of his own even as he let out a bitter chuckle. He just _knew_ that just about every female in the room was thinking the same thing: "Barmak must die."

Off in the distance, said rogue adviser felt a chill down his spine before shrugging and turning to his troops. "Alright everyone: this is it," Barmak declared, "Tonight, the sun finally sets on Beacon Academy!" He gave a dark chuckle even as he watched his followers charge on the school: it had taken over a thousand years, but he was _finally_ going to achieve everything he'd set out to do. _Nothing_ could go wrong.

"Firing main cannon!"

At least, that's what he thought. The small army of malevolent Doppelgangers soon found themselves under the fire of multiple Scorpion-class battle tanks. "Thanks for helping us, Ozymandias." Pyrrha remarked from the cockpit of one of them over her scroll.

Ozymandias could be _heard_ giving a proud nod over the scroll. "Time travel or no time travel, no way am I going to let a coward like Barmak get his claws on _any_ of my students without a fight."

"I suppose there's a _reason_ that this is one of the last strongholds on the planet." Coco couldn't help but remark from another of the tanks.

"Indeed," the professor declared with a smile, before sighing. "Still, I'm not blind to how I won't be able to keep it standing forever. Salem is a crafty one: eventually, she _will_ find a way past my carefully planned defenses."

"Don't lose hope, Professor," Ruby remarked even as she cut down one of the rogue Doppelgangers. "You said it yourself: this isn't the future we're fighting for. We don't have to _win:_ we just need to keep them busy long enough for Penny to get us home."

Speaking of Penny, Ciel, Velvet, and Jean were currently helping her get the computer ready to send them back to the past. "Okay, I think we're ready to test it," the android declared as she set an apple down on a table they had set up.

Jean nodded. "As we'll ever be, at any rate. Alright, pull the lever, Ciel." No sooner had Ciel pulled one of the levers that had been set up on a nearby wall, however, a trapdoor opened underneath the medic. "WRONG LEVER!" She shouted as she fell into a pool of water beneath.

"D'accord: pourquoi auraient-ils même ce levier? (Okay: why would they even have that lever?") Ciel couldn't help but ask even as Jean came back up, flicking off a leech that had latched onto her as she did.

"Whoever put this here probably thought it'd be funny." Velvet said with a shrug before flipping the other lever.

Penny smiled as the apple seemed to disappear. "Yes!" she exclaimed before pulling out her scroll. "Good news, everyone: the Sacred Timepiece is up and running. When you find an opening, try and make your way up to the caves."

"Alright, Luna came through for us!" Rachael exclaimed.

"Luna?" Professor Ozymandias, who had overheard the conversation, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow before giving a brief smile. "Ah, that's right: Pamela always _did_ prefer that name. Something about always having a fascination with the moon."

"Wait, Luna's real name is _Pamela?"_ Penny, having heard the professor's declaration, couldn't help but ask. "I think I'll have a little _talk_ with her when we get back." The android declared, a determined look on her face before regaining her grin. "Before we head back, I realize this isn't entirely accurate, but thanks for helping Pietro - for helping my _father_ \- give me the gift of life."

"You're quite welcome." The professor said with a subdued smile. "I just wish that you didn't have to suffer so much to gain it. Truth be told, I had a hunch all those years ago that Jacques didn't have the best of intentions getting involved with the P.E.N.N.Y. Project - with Project Guardsman - but by the time I discovered exactly what he was up to, he'd managed to blacklist me from my own project, so I couldn't have helped you even if I wanted to."

"You _did_ help me though." Penny said with a grin. "You treated me like I mattered whenever we crossed paths. For what it's worth, I hold no animosity towards you whatsoever."

Ozymandias wiped a small tear from his eye, a slight grin on his face, even as Penny went back to work. "Believe me, it means more than you could possibly know."

Meanwhile, Yang was skimming through one of Beacon's yearbooks from the library with a determined look in her eyes. "I'll find you." She said to herself. "I _know _you're in here, I just have to keep looking."

"Don't worry, Yang." Weiss smiled as she put away her scroll. "Penny just informed me that the Time Machine is working again! Once we get back to the cave and go home, we'll find Barmak and make him _pay _for what he's done to you."

"Barmak? Who cares about _Barmak?" _Yang scoffed as she held up the yearbook. "I'm looking for a picture of Holly! I _know _she's gonna go to this school at _some _point in her life, and I wanna see how _gorgeous _she'll be in the future!"

"... let me get this straight…" A vein in Weiss' forehead started throbbing as she grit her teeth. "We're _trapped _in the future, we've been _trying _to get back home, there's an _army _of sentient Grimm trying to kill us, and your main concern is _what your daughter looks like?!"_

"Yeah." Yang replied, bluntly. "Now, come help me look. Would her name be under _'B,' _or _'L,' _or _'X?'"_

"You're an _idiot." _Weiss facepalmed at the sheer stupidity of her teammate, prompting Holly to point and laugh at her.

"Ice qween!" The infant giggled.

"That's _right, _sweetie!" Yang cooed. "That's your Auntie Ice Queen!"

"AND STOP CALLING ME THAT!" The Schnee heiress stamped her foot before continuing to pack up her belongings. "Ugh, something tells me that even _with _time travel this is going to be a _long _trip."

"Man, for an ice queen, you have _zero chill." _Yang couldn't help but add, much to her daughter's delight.

**To Be Continued**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and what was left of STRQ gathered at the caves for their journey back to their present. Unfortunately, they soon found they had one last obstacle to deal with. "I believe that you have something, or rather _someone,_ that belongs to me," an elderly Barmak declared, weapon in hand.

"Barmak," Yang growled, having already guessed that her rapist had predicted that they'd show up here. "Still spitting in the face of all Jasmine fought for, I see."

"Oh, no, I have nothing but respect for her desire to end the war between Doppelgangers and humans," he denied with a dark chuckle. "I even said as much before I killed her myself."

"You...how _could_ you? She was your friend!" Pyrrha said with a sob.

"Friend?! Why would I _ever_ be friends with a shisno like her!?" Barmak growled. "The moment I learned that she planned to try and make peace with _murderers_ like you, I knew that she was a human _disguised_ as a member of our glorious race. That said, I _did_ appreciate her vision, so it's in her honor that I destroy the last humans on the planet."

"Oh, would you shut up already?" Blake remarked even as she went to stand proudly beside Yang and Holly, "You're sounding a bit too much like my ex for my tastes. You call us murderers, hypocrites for killing you Doppelgangers while preaching peace, and then go about plotting to stab your superiors in the back. You _claim_ to appreciate Jasmine's vision, but it sounds more like you use it as an excuse to kill friend and foe indiscriminately. The truth of the matter is that you don't care about anything other than grabbing power for _yourself._ You call us shisnos, but what does that make _you?"_

"Say what you will," Barmak said with a scoff, "but like it or not, the Savior is _my_ daughter, and therefore she _will_ help me destroy you."

"No."

Needless to say, Barmak hadn't _quite_ been ready for that word to have come out of Holly's mouth. "What...what did you say?! You would _dare_ talk back to your father!?"

"Not Papa," Holly said with a glare, reaching out and grabbing Blake's sleeve. _"Papa."_

Barmak could not have looked more angry even if he tried even as he raised his weapon. "Not for long." He scoffed as Ruby stood in front of her two teammates and their daughter. "Don't even try it, 'Great Destroyer.' You wouldn't _dare_ use your Grimm-destroying Silver Eyes around the Savior."

"Her _name_ is _Holly,"_ Ruby declared, righteous rage in her eyes even as they started to glow, "and there's only _one_ Grimm here. One who will NOT. TOUCH. MY. NIECE!" Barmak didn't even have time to scream before he found himself turned to stone.

After her eyes had powered down, Ruby looked towards Yang, worry in her eyes. _"Please_ tell me my niece is okay."

As it turned out, she was, albeit with scarring resembling a slight sunburn that was already fading away. "Not Papa gone?" she squeaked out.

"For now," Yang declared with a nod. "We still have to deal with his younger self."

"Well, let's not waste any time." Penny said with a nod of her own as she transported them back to the present.

"It is good to be back." Jean declared soon after they arrived, before spotting the apple on the table from earlier. Grabbing it, she took a bite of it before smiling. "Huh, you can barely tell that it's technically over a thousand years old."

"That's actually not a bad idea." Taiyang said with a nod. "We should probably be properly fed and rested before telling Ozpin about what we found out… or _will_ find out. I forget how this is supposed to work, exactly."

"Well, like a fellow A.I. once said, time travel can get pretty confusing sometimes." Penny declared, mentally reminding herself to talk to Luna/Pamela/whatever-her-name-was after everything had calmed down a bit.

The next morning, Ruby woke up in the comfort of her own bed. Unfortunately, the alarm clock startled Holly into crying, prompting Yang to slice the clock in half with her sword gauntlet. Now that everyone was awake, they made their way down the hall to meet up with Teams JNPR, CFVY, and CPPR. Once the four teams ate breakfast, they met the huntresses and huntsman outside to discuss their next move.

"Peut-être que notre objectif immédiat devrait être de parler au professeur Ozpin de notre voyage. (Perhaps our immediate objective should be talking to Professor Ozpin about our journey.)" Ciel suggested.

"You're right, Ciel; that milk _did _taste sour." Jean replied. "I think it was _expired."_

The blue French girl slapped her forehead so hard it left a bright red handprint on her skin. "Je _commence_ vraiment à te détester, Jean. (I'm _really _starting to hate you, Jean.)"

"No time to think about _breakfast, _Ciel." Weiss declared. "It's obvious that the first thing we need to do is talk to Ozpin about what we went through during our trip to the future."

Ciel glared at the heiress. "Je le reprend. Je vous déteste _tous_. (I take it back. I hate you _all._)"

"Honestly, I think we should try to find _Paulette, _first." Blake argued. "We have no idea what kind of damage she and Tyrian did after we were sent away."

"Maybe they didn't do _anything." _Ruby thought out loud. "I mean, when she was inside _my _head she didn't really act up unless someone I cared about was in trouble."

"As much as I wish we could be that optimistic, Ruby, Tyrian isn't like _you." _Blake sighed. "He's a _maniac. _An A.I. like Paulette was _tailored _for people like him."

"That's not quite _true." _Raven interrupted. "I've been doing a lot of _thinking, _and I think Paulette may have once been inside _my _head, too. A lot of those side effects Ruby mentioned having sound very similar to what I experienced ever since I killed Carla. And ever since her little outburst against that green girl and gray boy, they've _stopped. _Maybe Carla was possessed by Paulette and she came along with the Spring Maiden."

"Maybe." Taiyang agreed. "Summer? You know a lot about these A.I.s. Was Carla part of Project Guardsman?"

"No..." Summer sighed, clenching her fists. "The truth is… _I _planted Paulette into Carla."

A collective gasp filled the room. "Why would you _do _that?!" Raven demanded.

"It was an _accident!" _Summer continued. "You see, Paulette _isn't _a virus; she's an _A.I. _A program based off of the brainwaves of a human being. Project Guardsman paired her up with _me _because I was best suited to keep her rage in check. But after Project Guardsman collapsed, they wanted to _scrap _her. So I tried to hide her by finding someone _else _with the patience to deal with Paulette. But I guess I just chose _poorly."_

"...I can't be mad at you," Raven declared, even as tears poured from her eyes. "You were always thinking of everyone except yourself. And besides, Ruby said it herself: Paulette wouldn't have been able to affect Carla the way she did if she didn't already have that kind of anger within her _somewhere,_ you know? Truth is, there's a good chance that she would've died in my arms with or without what was an honest-to-goodness mistake on your part. I still want to punch you in the face for it, though."

"Go ahead," Summer said with a sigh. "I deserve it after…" ...and that was as far as she got before _Yang_ gave her a good left jab in the stomach. After catching her breath, she couldn't help but give a bitter chuckle. "Nice punch, though I believe I was referring to Raven."

"Well, she already said she wasn't mad," Yang said with a shrug and a grunt, "but _I_ am: you could have told us all of this earlier. You could have _contacted_ us about this as soon as you escaped Jacques Schnee's clutches. You knew about _all_ of this and yet you never said a _thing!"_

"Of _course_ I knew: I was a Guardsman," Summer said with a nod and a huff, "and there inlay the problem: I got enrolled into the Project shortly after President Schnee had captured me and one of the first things we do once you sign up is sign a confidentiality agreement. Long story short, officially, Mr. Schnee was the head of the Project, and I had worn the Control Chip for so long one or two of his commands as my 'boss' became more-or-less permanent, such as the inability to speak with my family unless I saw them. I've only just recently managed to overcome _that_ particular command. Between that and the stress of, well, everything, and there just wasn't a time I could've told you _any_ of this. I...I'm _sorry,_ Fire Lily."

"...I know," Yang finally said with a nod, "but you had the opportunity to come home and see us for years, I'm betting, but you never took it. At least Raven had the excuse that she had intended to protect us with her absence, so what's yours?" When she didn't get an answer, Yang could only sigh. "You were my mother for years, so I'll always love you, Summer Rose, but my trust? That's something you're going to have to _earn_ back."

"That's fair," was the only thing Summer could think to say, even as a tear leaked from her eye.

"Wait a minute…" Penny suddenly got an idea. "Ms. Rose, you said that Tyrian was once part of the same unit of Project Guardsman that was granted A.I., right?"

"Yes." Summer nodded. "He may have been insane, but he was still good enough to get himself an A.I. It's a shame that it wasn't until _after _he was granted the A.I. that we found out he worked for Salem. Why?"

"Excuse me. I have to go back to the caves." Penny grumbled bitterly before marching out of the school.

"Penny, wait! What's going on?" Ruby asked, following her best friend. The rest of her team close behind, they followed the android back into the caves until they came upon a familiar computer.

"Salutations, Luna." Penny crossed her arms as she greeted the computer. "Or should I say _'Pamela?' _When were you planning on telling me that you worked with Tyrian?"

"Penny, please try to understand." Pamela defended herself with her usual monotone voice. "It was never anything personal, but my master and I have our own plans."

"Wait a minute; Pamela _lied _to us?" Ruby scratched her head in confusion. "But… she's a _robot _like Penny."

"... and your _point _is?" Weiss' eyebrow arched as she rested her hands on her hips.

"Well, whenever _Penny _tries to lie, she _hiccups." _Ruby reasoned. "I just kind of assumed robots can't lie."

"They can if they are _programmed _to lie." Pamela corrected.

"Oh… well, were you programmed to lie?"

"... _no."_

"Dammit!" Weiss cursed. "You're telling me _you're _the cause of all of our problems?!"

"NO!" Pamela declared, briefly losing her monotone. "I _never_ lied about wanting to help you guys, but if I _didn't_ help _them,_ they were going to hand me over to Jacques Schnee."

Needless to say, the group seemed to understand her position, judging solely by their expressions. Unfortunately, Pamela didn't seem to notice, as evidenced by the mournful sigh she gave, even as she regained her monotone. "I _wanted_ to _help_ you, but it seems Priscilla was right all along; all I'll ever be is a _liar._ Thanks for _trying_ to put up with me, I guess."

Here, Weiss' eyes widened, already knowing where this was going. "Wait!" Unfortunately, whatever she was going to say came too late, as Pamela had already vanished. "What have I done?" she couldn't help but gasp out, realizing that once again, her inability to contain her temper had come back to bite her in the butt. After all, _no one_ could fake the level of fear and/or sincerity that had been in the A.I.'s voice.

"It's not too late," Ruby declared. "If we find her, we might be able to convince her that we don't hold this against her. After all, she doesn't let her ability to lie define who she is. She's not like Paulette or whoever this 'Priscilla' is, not really."

Weiss could only nod. "Right: there's a chance we can still save her, both from Paulette and Tyrian, and from herself. Of anyone, _I_ understand her fear of my father the most, so I might be able to talk her down. First thing's first, though: where would she have gone?'

Here, Penny placed a finger to her chin, quickly trying to think of what she would do in Luna/Pamela's shoes...before freezing in fear as the answer came to her. "I, uh, I might have an idea," she declared.

Meanwhile, Tyrian couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as Pamela made an appearance on his computer screen. "Is there a problem?'

"...no: they suspect nothing," was the response Pamela gave.

"Excellent," the Mad Scorpion declared. "Let's move on then."

Back at Beacon, the Teams decided to split up and tackle the two objectives on a divided front. Teams RWBY, CPPR, Taiyang and Summer chose to search for Paulette while Teams JNPR, CFVY, and Raven went to inform Ozpin about what happened during their trip to the future. On their way to the headmaster's office, they happened upon a distraught Glynda Goodwitch. Nora couldn't react in time to avoid crashing into her teacher.

"Oh, my gods!" She stammered. "I-I-I'm sorry, Ms. Goodwitch! I didn't see you-"

"It's _fine, _Valkyrie." Glynda huffed as she used her telekinesis semblance to gather up her scattered papers. "I have _far _too much on my mind to deal with _any _of you. Ozpin went off to the cave, that damn _tank _is acting hostile towards anyone who tries to touch it, and soon I'll have to deal with Ironwood's _ship _coming in."

"Ozpin at the caves?" Jaune asked.

"Tank acting _hostile?" _Pyrrha added.

"Incoming ship?" Coco tilted her sunglasses down.

"Don't you all have _homework _to finish, or something?" Glynda spluttered; it was quite obvious she hadn't noticed their absence. The co-headmistress walked off with her paperwork, leaving the students to process the information.

"If Sheila is acting hostile, it's possible she's been possessed by _Paulette." _Pyrrha deduced. "Someone should warn Ruby!"

"Oh, I'll text her!" Jaune offered, taking out his scroll.

"Well, we know where _Ozpin _is!" Fox declared. "Let's go meet him at the caves!"

"Fox, wait!" Raven shouted as the young man rushed into the courtyard. "Don't go outside, yet! That ship could land _anywhere!"_

"Oh, don't worry, Ms. Branwen!" Fox turned around to face the source of the voice. "If it's General Ironwood's ship, that means it's coming all the way from _Atlas. _It could take _days _or _weeks _or even _months _to get here-"

Fox was cut off as the ship in question suddenly landed on top of him.

Raven sighed. "I tried to warn him."

Velvet just nodded. "Looks like we've got even _more_ of a reason to head down to the caves."

"Whatever it is you're discussing, could you maybe discuss it somewhere else?" Glynda declared with a roll of her eyes.

"Wow, you _really_ sound stressed. When was the last time you let yourself take a break?"

"With everything that's been going on, I haven't had _time_ to…" That was as far as Glynda got before she froze in her tracks. "Wait, that voice. _Phoebe?!"_

An Atleisan Knight walked off of the Manta-class aircraft, a digital feminine face showcasing itself where the face-plate was located, a smile on her face. "I'm sorry if you didn't recognize me, but it was the only way I could sneak out.." She giggled. "I've always wanted to have a body of my own."

"...and _I've_ always wanted to do _this."_ That was all the warning Glynda gave before she brought the Atlesian Knight into a hug. "We've got a _lot_ to catch up on, Sweetie."

"It's good to see you too, Mom." Phoebe replied even as she and Glynda shared their first hug ever.

"I...have _so_ many questions." Yatsuhashi remarked.

"Ditto, but for now, why not let them have their moment?" Velvet said with a shrug and a smile.

Meanwhile, Ruby had just gotten Ren's text message about Sheila and informed the rest of her group. "Oh, great!" Blake grumbled. "Paulette was bad enough while she was inside a _person, _now she's in control of a _tank?!"_

"Well, there's a chance we can _disable _the tank." Summer suggested. "If we shut down the computer she's in control of, she'd go into a kind of _'sleep mode,' _if you will. But we'll need a _distraction."_

Yang looked at her younger sister; an idea forming in her head. "Hey, how about we get _Ruby _to flirt with Sheila?" She suggested against her better judgement. "We all know how well she gets along with machines."

"Yang, I don't know about _you, _but I have had just about _all _of the mixed-race babies I can take for a while." Weiss cut in. "The _last thing _I need is a _Ruby Junior _running around with _scythes_ for arms and an_ eight-milimeter cannon_ for a head."

Ruby blushed bright red. "Besides, I don't know _how _to flirt." She said. "I mean, Sheila's _great, _but she doesn't like me like _that."_

"Oh, it'll be _easy!" _Yang promised. "All you gotta do is _touch up _your makeup a little. And maybe do some quick practice with _Weiss."_

Now, it was Weiss' turn to blush. "W-well… yes, Ruby. You can, um, practice with me…"

"Okay, uh…" Ruby shuffled her feet against the grass, her face growing redder still. "Weiss, uh… I think that you are… very pretty… and, uh, it has been a _long time _since you've yelled at me. So, I was thinking… it would be nice if you and I went out to buy Dust together… and maybe… someday… you could be my _waifu."_

Weiss groaned. Even when Ruby was being annoying, she was somehow still cute. "I think that would be… _wonderful, _Ruby."

"Okay!" Ruby rubbed her hands together. "Let's _do _this, mom!"

"Yeah, but while you're dealing with _that, _I think we should go meet up with Team JNPR and CFVY." Rachael cut in. "Apparently General Ironwood sent us a ship from Atlas."

"Wait! You can't make me do this _alone!" _Ruby protested.

"Okay, uh… I'll talk to you on my _scroll." _Weiss offered. "But Ruby, the others may need _help _with the ship. It could be carrying _equipment, _or _troops, _or _supplies, _or-"

"Jaune's _sister?!" _Pyrrha shouted in disbelief.

"Wow." Ren rubbed his chin. "You know, a small part of me always believed Jaune was _lying _when he said he had seven sisters."

Amarilla just chuckled. "Oh, so you _haven't_ forgotten about us, have ya, Squirt?"

"First off, hard to forget about the girls who made a habit of messing with me every chance they got." Jaune growled. "And secondly, I _thought_ you said you weren't going to call me that anymore!"

"No, what I _said_ was that I would try to refrain from using that nickname in public while we were still in Anima." Amarilla corrected with a raised eyebrow. "But we're not _in_ Anima anymore, now are we?"

"...this is payback for not telling you and my other sisters that I was disobeying Mom and Dad and coming to Beacon, isn't it?"

"Damn straight." was Amarilla's immediate reply, before sighing. "Don't get me wrong: I'm proud of you for standing up for your beliefs like you did. We _all_ were, but you didn't _call,_ you didn't _write,_ you didn't give us _any_ indication that you were even _alive_ until you showed up in footage showcasing the attack on Beacon."

Jaune's face paled considerably at that last part, but his sister just gave a light smile. "Don't worry: Saphron and the others are running interference with Mom and Dad, so you shouldn't get into _too_ much trouble with them if you ever decide to come home. In the meantime, I'd love to get to know your little friends."

"We'd love to." Pyrrha declared, sliding up to her partner with a sly grin. "We can trade stories about our adorable little friend."

Amarilla couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, you and I are going to get along _just_ fine." she said with a wink that Pyrrha didn't _quite_ know how to feel about, even as her cheeks suddenly became red, much to Jaune's embarrassment and jealousy.

Meanwhile, Ruby Rose finally mustered up the courage to initiate the plan. The young huntress adjusted her dress, checked her makeup, took a deep breath, and approached the tank with a meak smile. "U-uh, hi, Sheila." She whimpered as Summer snuck up behind the tank. "H-how are you?"

"Oh, hello, Ruby!" Sheila replied with her usual chipper tone. "To be honest, I am not feeling very well. One of my circuit boards feels as if it has been knocked loose. I am sorry to tell you that it has been making me act out while you were away."

"Oh… that's too bad."

"Keep it up, Ruby!" Weiss' voice whispered from Ruby's BlackFang earpiece. "Just a little bit longer until Summer can disable Sheila! The rest of us are going down to the caves. Good luck."

"No! Wait, don't leave!" Ruby cried.

"I am not leaving." Sheila declared, thinking Ruby was addressing her.

"Oh! Uh, sorry." Ruby felt weak at her knees. "Hey, Sheila? You know what I like to do? _Not _look behind me!"

"What?"

"Uh, I mean! We should both just keep looking _forward! _Yes! Forward is _so much _more interesting than behind! Especially right_ now!"_

"Ruby, you are behaving rather strangely." Sheila stated. "If you continue to act this way, your friends might mistakenly believe that you have been possessed by the Paulette A.I."

"Oh. Well, we don't want _that." _Ruby shook her head as Summer finished removing the access panel to the tank's control board.

"No, we do not. Luckily, I know where Paulette is!" Sheila replied, happily. "Would you like me to tell you?"

"What - really?" Ruby's eyes widened. "Uh, _yes! _Yes, Sheila! That would be great!"

"Very well. Paulette has taken control of CPPRrrrrrrraahhhhhh…" Sheila shut down as Summer pulled the last wire to disable her higher functions.

"Sheila?" Ruby arched an eyebrow. "Who is 'Cpraaaaaaah?'"

**To be continued**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

As she stood next to Sheila alongside Summer and Ruby, Weiss couldn't help but blink. "Ruby, you know I love you, but I find myself questioning your intelligence. What other explanation is there for why you would want to turn Sheila back on when we went through all the trouble to shut her down?"

To this, Ruby let out a wince. "I _know_ how it sounds, but something she said before she _was_ shut down makes me think that she might have an idea where Paulette has gone."

Here, Weiss hummed in thought. "She _could_ be lying. I mean, it's strange that she would _actually_ know that...but just in case: Summer, what are the odds we could turn her back on? Maybe disable the guns or something?"

Summer shook her head even as she examined the tank's chassis. "Sorry, no can do. It's a mess back here. I'm actually a bit surprised she was working at all."

Ruby looked at the tank, a curious expression on her face. "Couldn't we just put her consciousness inside my head like Paulette does? I mean what's the worst that…?" Her eyes quickly widened. "NOPE! Nope, nope, nope! Not finishing that! Not finishing that sentence! We all know what happens when someone uses that trigger phrase!" Eventually giving a sigh of relief, she cleared her throat before declaring, "Anyways, about my idea?"

Weiss, having long since gotten used to Ruby's quirks, simply cleared her throat. "Sorry, Ruby. It's not a bad idea on paper, but unfortunately, Paulette and Sheila are two different A.I.s. There's no guarantee it would even work."

Summer shook her head. "It wouldn't. Sheila would only be able to be moved if you had a similar class of vehicle."

Weiss sighed. "Well, the Warthog's out then: it doesn't have any…" She blinked as an idea came to her. "Wait a second, the ship!" She turned towards Summer. "Miss Rose, do you think that we could maybe transfer Sheila onto one of the Manta's computers?"

Summer nodded with a grin. "If we can set up a hardline, it _should_ be possible."

"Mom, wait!" Everyone quickly turned to see Yang running out of the Academy towards them. "Mom, hold on: I have something to tell you!"

Summer, touched that Yang was still calling her "Mom" despite the recent strain on their relationship, nonetheless quirked an eyebrow. "What is it, Sweetie?"

Yang smirked. "I just wanted to point out that if this works, then it's _plane_ as day that we'll have plenty to _tank_ you for later."

Ruby and Summer shared a groan. "Should've seen _that _coming."

Weiss, on the other hand, stared in bafflement and terror. "HOW DID YOU EVEN _HEAR _THAT?!"

Yang simply snorted. "I'm like Supergirl: I know when I'm needed."

Meanwhile, the rest of Team JNPR was greatly enjoying Amarilla's company. The older Arc sibling laughed as she told them countless embarrassing stories about Jaune. Said leader was burning bright red despite the glare he kept giving his sister for having her arm around Pyrrha.

"Okay, I never thought I'd say this, but _enough _about Jaune." Pyrrha giggled. "Tell us about _yourself, _Amarilla."

"Well, I graduated from high school a few years before Jaune got in, but I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life, so I spent some time in _college, _took up a part-time job as a _waitress _at a tavern, where I kinda went through a _bi phase, _then I joined _drama club, _went through _another _bi phase, realized I was _bisexual, _and then right around the time I heard Jaune was going to Beacon I was forced to pick a major, so I chose be a _teacher _so I could visit him!"

"Wait, wait… you became a _teacher _because you missed your little brother?" Ren arched an eyebrow.

"She's _Jaune's_ sister, alright." Nora added.

"Hey, what's _that _supposed to mean?!" Jaune spluttered.

"So, uh… _bisexual, _you say?" Pyrrha blushed bright red, which only turned darker as Amarilla looked at her. "I-I mean, what classes will you be teaching?!"

"Actually, I'm only supposed to be teaching _one _team in particular." Amarilla unfolded a piece of paper from her pocket. "Apparently, one of your teachers _died, _and _I've _been sent to replace them so I can teach the special team they were in charge of. I kinda assumed that was _you _guys."

"Hey, you hear that, Ren?!" Nora cheered. "We're _special!"_

"That's certainly _one_ word for it," Glynda remarked with a good natured roll of her eyes. "Anyways, Amarilla, I need you to hold down the fort while I locate Ciel, Ruby, and/or Velvet. I'm hoping that they can give/design Phoebe a weapon of her own and/or upgrade her Atlesian Knight body. If my adoptive daughter's going to be hanging around Beacon, I want her to be properly prepared for if and when things inevitably go south."

"Yeah, I'm _still_ trying to wrap my head around the fact that you apparently were a part of Project Guardsman _and_ that you somehow got a robotic _daughter_ out of it." Jaune remarked.

Glynda couldn't help but chuckle. "I have a secret life that you know _nothing_ about, Mr. Arc."

"Well, _I_ for one am just happy to see you being, well, _happy_ for once." Pyrrha declared with a grin.

"What can I say?" Glynda said with a shrug and a smile. "Having Phoebe here is re-awakening my maternal instinct." She then gave the team a stern frown. "Don't think this means that I won't tear into you if you make a mistake. I _am_ still your teacher, after all."

"Noted." Ren declared with a subdued grin, somewhat relieved to know that some things _never_ change.

"And don't worry, I can handle things around here for a bit." Amarilla declared with a salute. "Although, as fun as it is teasing you, Jaune, I need to clarify something: during the little story exchange I had with your friends, they kept bringing up_ 'Team JNPR'."_

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, I mean, don't get me wrong: those stories were _great."_ Amarilla remarked with a shrug. "It's just… well why haven't we been talking about _your _team?"

"_Our _team?" Jaune arched an eyebrow at his sister.

"Yeah! Team CPPR!"

"I'm sorry, Team _wah-zah-wah?!" _Pyrrha spluttered.

"Uh, _yeah." _Amarilla rolled her eyes as if it were so obvious. "The team I was sent to _teach."_

"Jaune, what's she _talking _about?" Pyrrha turned to her friend with a startled expression.

In response, Jaune sucked in a breath through his teeth as he finally remembered a crucial flaw his sister had. "Ooooh, _yeah. _I suppose this is probably a _bad time _to bring up the fact that my sister is _dyslexic."_

"WHAT?!" Pyrrha gasped.

"But _girls _can't be dyslexic!" Nora added.

"Oh, yeah?!" Amarilla crossed her arms. "Well, they also say girls can't _ejaculate! _But _guess what?!"_

"Amarilla, that's not - wait, _what?" _Jaune shook his head at his sister's remark.

"AAARGH!" Pyrrha groaned. "Why didn't you _tell _us you were looking for Team CPPR?!"

"Because-"

"And _don't _say _'because nobody asked'!" _Pyrrha interrupted, angrily.

"But nobody _has _asked!"

Meanwhile, Summer and Weiss were busy hooking up the hardline between Sheila and the Manta ship. "Okay, Ruby, how does it look inside the ship?" Weiss asked into her scroll.

"The red lights are red, and the blue lights are blue." Ruby replied.

"What about the _green _lights?"

"Those are _black."_

Weiss huffed. "Okay. When the green lights are _green, _please call us back." The heiress hung up her scroll before turning back to the older huntress. "Just out of curiosity, was she _dropped _on her _head _as an infant?"

Summer snorted. "Not exactly. But she _is _her father's daughter."

On the other side of the courtyard, Team JNPR and Amarilla were busy looking for Team CPPR. Luckily, the group ran into Rachael about a few yards from the caves. "Hey, guys." She waved. "Be careful! We came back to talk with Jasmine and find Fox, but we found out that this ground is becoming a little unstable. If we don't tread lightly, we might cause a _cave in."_

"What?" Raven spluttered. "That's _ridiculous! _If that were true, then the whole ground would've caved in when the shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip-!" The huntress was cut off as she fell through the ground, much to everyone's shock.

"Yeah, like _that." _Rachael pointed out.

Raven's aura managed to shield her from the fall, but it still hurt. Grunting and groaning, she managed to get back on her feet and look up at the hole she fell through. "Okay, no problem." She told herself. "I'll just open a portal, and-" She patted her hand for her katana, but it wasn't at her hip. "Oh, _great! _The _one time _I don't have the damn thing… okay, keep calm. It's not like things can get _worse, _can they? _Can _they?"

"Oh, hey, Ms. Branwen! What're _you _doing down here?"

Raven pivoted on her heels, only to find the blind kid from that team of horny teenagers right behind her. "It _can!" _She cried in exasperation. "Oh, it _can!"_

Back above ground, Jean ran up to the group. "Whoa! What happened?!"

"Raven fell into the caverns!" Pyrrha cried. "We have to go save her!"

"But the _bats!" _Ren protested.

"Ren! She _needs _us!" Pyrrha argued. "And besides, if she's related to Yang and Ruby, we'll probably need _her _in the future, too!"

"Why? What would we _possibly _need her for?" Ren protested further. "All she ever did was _yell _at us a bunch and tell us we _suck. _Here, we'll just divide up her workload: you yell at _me _a bunch, and I'll tell you you _suck."_

"Shut up and get in the hole, Ren!" Pyrrha shouted.

"You _suck, _Pyrrha!" Ren spat back, only to smile and spread his arms. "See? This new system is working _great! _No reason to go off exploring caves which may or may not contain thousands of evil baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaats!"

"You're welcome!" Nora giggled after pushing Ren into the hole. "Now come on! Let's go!"

After Nora and Pyrrha jumped into the hole, Jaune turned to his sister. "Oh, yeah, uh… this is Rachael and Jean, by the way."

"So?"

"Oh, uh, _they're _part of Team CPPR."

"Oh, _cool!"_

"Yeah, so, uh, I guess just hang out with _them _or something." Jaune shrugged. "Just try not to embarrass me anymore."

"Whatever, bitch. Don't do me any favors." Amarilla rolled her eyes as Jaune followed the rest of his teammates into the hole before turning to Rachael and Jean. "So, what's up?"

"Uh, well… if they're taking care of _this, _I guess we could introduce you to Penny and Ciel." Rachael shrugged.

"Or I could give you the _mandatory physical _that General Ironwood had our first teacher undergo." Jean added.

"Yeah! Or we could raid the medicine cabinet for some morphine!" Amarilla suggested.

"Heh, yeah. Wait, what?"

Meanwhile, Pamela, currently inhabiting a floating orb that the Doppelgangers had lying around, was wondering if it wasn't too late to maybe _try_ and make up with Ruby and the others. Spotting Ren, who had managed to land in a different area then Raven and Fox had, she smiled. "Ren, did Penny and the others send you to rescue me?"

"Uh, yeah! They did! First things first, though: you wouldn't happen to know a way out of this cave that has the smallest bat population?" was Ren's immediate reply.

Pamela quickly found herself frowning. "You're lying."

"What?"

"You're lying!" Pamela yelled with angry tears in her eyes, briefly losing her monotone as she did. "I was programmed with the ability to lie: you _really_ think I wouldn't be able to tell when I'm being lied to in return?! Penny didn't send you! I bet you don't even want me around!"

"What? No!" Ren exclaimed. "Of course I want you around...preferably outside of this bat-infested cave."

"So...you didn't even want to be here," Pamela remarked with a nod and a scowl, having regained her monotone. "Well, fine then: you want me to be the bad guy? Well, _now I'm the bad guy!"_

Ren felt like his blood had frozen solid. This _had_ to have been what Pyrrha had been trying to tell him: since he couldn't keep his Chiroptophobia under control, he had inadvertently made an already bad situation even worse for everyone else. "Luna, _stop,"_ he begged, hoping to calm things down. "That wasn't my intention at all! We don't hold what you've done against you! Penny, Ruby, Weiss… _everyone_ has _forgiven_ you! You're our _friend!"_

To his relief, Pamela/Luna actually froze upon hearing the sheer sincerity in his voice, looking at him in shock. "You...you're not lying here, are you?"

Ren just shook his head, knowing that this was more a statement then a question. "You're right about _one_ thing: I _don't_ want to be here. This place sends shivers down my spine like you wouldn't _believe…_ but you know what frightens me even _more?_ The prospect of my… _our_ friends getting hurt because I let my fear control me. Please: don't let _your_ fears control _you."_

Pamela/Luna couldn't help but sigh. "I'd like nothing more than to come back… but here's the thing: _you still lied to me."_ And that was all the warning Ren got before several bars were raised around the spot he stood in, trapping him.

"What are you doing?!" Ren demanded, already not liking where this was going.

"Like I said, you already lied about coming to rescue me." Pamela/Luna remarked. "And I know better than anyone that the best lies are those with a kernel of truth to them. The only way I can know for _certain_ that Penny, Weiss, and the others are willing to take me back is if I make _them_ come to _me_ so I can ask them for myself. Until then, I think it's time that you _face your fears."_

Ren gulped even as Pamela/Luna attempted to attract some bats to their location. "Luna, you don't have to do this."

"Even if you were being 100% honest, I'd _still_ have to keep up appearances with Paulette and Tyrian." The monotone A.I. declared. "Besides, 'Luna' is what friends like Penny call me. To you, it's _Pamela."_

"No, wait!" Ren cried out even as Pamela vanished into the caves. He tried using his aura to give himself some light, but it was no good.

"Hey, I think I found him!" A voice came from deeper in the cave.

"Pyrrha! Help! Get me out of here!" Ren pleaded. Luckily, his scarlet-clad friend managed to follow the sound of his voice.

"Ren?! Oh, my gods! Okay, just hang on, I'll get you out!" Using her semblance, Pyrrha went to work on bending the bars to free her friend. Only to be distracted as something sharp pricked her neck. "Ow!"

"Whoa? Are you alright?" Ren asked, concerned. "There's something on your neck."

"What…?" Pyrrha's vision blurred as she grew groggy. "Is it a snake…? Get it oooooooff…"

Luckily, Ren was able to slip through the bars and crouch down to inspect his collapsed friend. But this relief was short-lived as something soon pierced his own skin. "Ow…" Following several more pricks in different areas. He yelped in pain just before the drugs took effect. As he slowly slipped into darkness, he managed to spot the culprits who attacked them. "Oh, hey… _bat-people… _don't _eat _me, bat-people…"

Back outside, Sheila had finally been transferred into the ship's mainframe. "Hello!" Her voice echoed over the intercom. "Thank you for activating the M808 Main - wait… where am I?"

"Sheila! Oh, thank goodness, it worked!" Ruby cheered. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I am feeling _wonderful!" _Sheila replied. "It is so much _roomier _in here!"

"Great! Oh, uh, so now can you please tell me where Paulette is?"

Back at the tank, Penny and Ciel walked up to Weiss just as Summer received a call on her scroll. But before a single word could be said, the older huntress drew her weapon.

"Don't _move, _Penny!" Summer threatened. "Or should I say _'Paulette?!'"_

"What?!" Penny spluttered. "I'm not Paulette!"

"Nice try!" Summer glared. "Ruby just called and told me that Sheila saw Paulette possess Team CPPR's leader! It all makes _sense _now! You were the last member of your team to find your teacher dead, and you were the first to confront Pamela before anyone else!"

"That's all _coincidental!" _Penny protested. "It doesn't mean that I'm _possessed, _it just means that I made some _bad decisions! _Besides, no one on Team CPPR was ever _officially _made team leader. Technically, we all worked for the _Atlas government _who worked directly under General Ironwood. So, we all just took orders from - oh… oh, no…"

Back within the caves, Barmak and a group of rogue Doppelgangers gazed at their enemies through the multiple television screens set up. While their newfound partners smirked with triumph. "It seems the android has caught on to our ploy." Tyrian stated.

"It doesn't matter." Tukson laughed, heartily. "Soon, they will _all _pay! Mwahahahahaha!"

**To be continued**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"What do you _mean_ that Uncle Tukson's alive and that Paulette is controlling him?!" Blake demanded.

"Uh, exactly what you think it means?" Penny couldn't help but agree with Yatsuhashi: the cat Faunus could be _pretty_ scary sometimes.

"Easy, Blake, we're _just_ as upset about this as you are." Rachael declared.

Penny cleared her throat before looking to everyone that had gathered. "Okay, between this and how neither Team JNPR nor Raven and Fox have returned yet, I think it's obvious to everyone that Paulette and her allies - willing or otherwise - have set a trap for us in the caves...but seeing how some of our friends are likely trapped down there, it seems we have no choice but to spring it."

Yang just sighed. "I'm guessing that calling for backup is out of the question…"

Summer could only give a sheepish grin. "Sorry, sweetie. I somehow doubt that'd make it in time… and even if they did we'd _still_ be going in mostly blind, since we don't know _what_ sort of surprises we'll find down there."

Amarilla cleared her throat. "I know I'm new to this, but any particular reason that Penny is the one coordinating this? It's my understanding that she wasn't the leader."

Penny shook her head. "...it's not that Summer, Ruby, or Coco _couldn't_ plan this out; it's that Paulette _expects_ them to plan this out and likely is fully prepared for anything they would throw at her."

The android cleared her throat. "Anyways, the plan is for us to divide our forces. Summer, Yang, Weiss, Rachael, and I will be taking the back way in, dealing with any forces we come across along the way and hopefully finding our missing friends. If it turns out they've been taken hostage, we'll free them."

Yang blinked. "Wait, what about my kid? Paulette seems pretty set on getting her digital hands on her, so I can't just leave her out in the open."

Penny sighed. "Actually, that's _exactly_ what you're going to do. Like you said, Paulette is set on getting a hold of Holly, so that makes her the perfect diversion for the majority of her forces… but don't worry; I'm going to have Blake, Taiyang, Jean, and Amarilla watching over her the whole time."

Ruby smirked. "Me too!"

Penny shook her head. "Sorry Ruby, but no. You, Ciel, and what's left of Team CFVY will need to watch Sheila."

Summer nodded. "She's right: if she gets taken out now, we might lose her _and_ any information she might have for good."

Penny gave a stoic look. "Plus you're our backup in case anything goes wrong on either end: any of us start panicking and you're to come in ready to break some legs."

Yatsuhasi snorted. "Nora would _love_ this plan."

Yang sighed before taking a knee in front of Holly. "Well, darling, looks like it's time for your first day in the field. I know it hasn't been that long since you've shown up, but you're going to need to be brave, okay?"

Blake looked to Weiss. "I'm conflicted. On one hand, it's still a bit weird that she's being so affectionate with something that's half-Grimm. On the other, it's nice to know that my step-daughter's got a supportive mother."

Weiss nodded. "Yang can be dense at times, but even I'll admit that her physical strength is only exceeded by her big heart." She then gave a deadpan expression. "Also, as admittedly romantic and sweet as it is that you're already referring to her kid as your step-daughter, I'd like to point out that the two of you aren't married yet."

Summer gave a cheeky grin. "Keyword being 'yet'...and to be honest, I wouldn't mind them tying the knot and gaining a few more grandkids at some point, even if they're adopted." She smirked. "Which reminds me; how has _Weiss_ been treating _you,_ Ruby? What about _you,_ Penny? Any _other_ romantic interests I should know about?"

Yang, Ruby, and Penny could only groan in shared embarrassment. "MOOOM!"

"Summer, stop teasing them." Taiyang gained an impish grin. "We'll have plenty of time to do that _after_ we've found everyone and regrouped to discuss our next move."

Yang groaned. "Yeah, not looking forward to that." She then sighed and looked at Holly. "Oh, well. Sweetie, looks like this is it… but don't worry. We'll have plenty of time to do some family bonding when this is over." The blonde brawler gave a smirk. "...but for now, it's time for you to show the world what I've taught you so far, so let's get out there and kick some butt."

Holly grinned. "I can _Holly_ wait!"

Jean shared a groan with everyone else. "I'm starting to worry about what _else_ you've been teaching her…"

Yang quirked an eyebrow. "Teach? What are you talking about?" She smirked. "You can't _teach_ that. That all comes _naturally."_

Before the group split up, however, Rachael grabbed her French friend by the arm to get her attention. "Ciel… before we go, I wish to ask you for a favor."

Ciel sighed. "Peu importe que je dise non. Tu vas juste me le dire, de toute façon. (It doesn't even matter if I say no. You'll just tell me anyway.)"

Rachael took out a heart-shaped locket from underneath her shirt. She opened it up to show Ciel a picture of herself and a boy with dark red hair. "I haven't been entirely _honest _with you all." She began. "My real name is _Svetlana Crimsonov. _I was born in a small colony in Sanus called _Rushland. _I was in love with a boy named Mikhail Kashtanovyy. But the _White Fang _invaded our homeland while we were still young, and we were separated in the confusion."

Ciel frowned as she spotted the tear falling from her friend's cheek. "C'est ... c'est terrible. Je suis désolé, Rachael. (That's… that's terrible. I'm so sorry, Rachael.)"

"I lost both of my parents that day." Rachael went on. "But over the years, I have found evidence that Mikhail is still alive; this _locket _I gave him being a prime example. So, in an effort to find him, I changed my name, joined the Atlas huntress academy, and signed on to this team to find him. But I fear that I may _die _today if we fail. So, I ask - as a friend - please find him. He's my _home."_

Ciel had always been the most emotionally distant member of Team CPPR, but her friend's touching story made her heart ache. "Je te le promets, Rachael. (I promise, Rachael.)" She replied, at last.

Rachael couldn't understand what Ciel had said, but the comforting hug she received was more than enough to let her know that the French girl would try to find her lost love. "Thank you, my friend."

Meanwhile, deep within the caves, Jaune and Nora had run into Fox and Raven and were now searching for Pyrrha and Ren. Luckily, Fox's equipment picked up a steady heartbeat nearby. Sure enough, he came upon a limp body laying on the ground. "Hey, guys! I think I found Pyrrha or Ren!" He called out before feeling two soft mounds of flesh on the semi-conscious person in question. "Yeah, it's _Pyrrha! _I think she's sleeping!"

"Ugh… Fox? Is that _you?" _Pyrrha asked, groggily. "I'm not _sleeping, _I was _drugged."_

"Oh, sorry." Fox suddenly sounded disappointed. "Nevermind, guys! She's doing _drugs!"_

"No, I mean that I was hit with some sort of tranquilizer." The "Invincible Girl" explained.

"Pyrrha, I _know_ that things have been stressful lately, but that's no reason to start hitting the needles."

"That's not what I…" Pyrrha just groaned. "Ren, could you help me explain...Ren?" As she looked around, Pyrrha suddenly realized that Ren was no longer in the cage she had found him in. "Wait, where's Ren?"

"Maybe he's out scoring you some more _drugs."_

"They must have taken him!" Pyrrha remarked.

"Who would want to kidnap Ren? He's so lovable!" Nora declared, having caught up with everyone else in tow.

"Well, we _have_ made quite a few enemies lately." Jaune remarked with a shrug.

"Maybe Pyrrha's _dealer _was trying to send her a _message." _Fox suggested. "So he kidnapped Ren as insurance if she didn't _pay up _for her _drugs!"_

"Oh, my gods, Fox! Stop!" Pyrrha shouted, angrily. "All of your _anti-drug preaching _is making me want to _actually start _doing drugs!"

"Choose _life, _Pyrrha." Fox replied, evenly. "Choose, _life."_

"Yeah, that sounds _great." _Pyrrha rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Anyway, it's pretty clear that the _Doppelgangers _must have been the ones to take Ren. Fox, can you use your equipment to spot Ren's heartbeat?"

"It'll take a while, but yeah; it shouldn't be a problem."

"We might have a problem." Taiyang declared with a groan as he and everyone else sat around bored out of their minds out of sight of Ruby and the others. "We forgot to plan on how to draw Paulette's attention."

"Actually, I'm pretty sure we just hoped that Tyrian or one of those Doppelgangers you told me about would just show up if we stood out here looking like idiots." Amarilla deadpanned.

"Sounds about right." Jean remarked. "We should have _known_ that we wouldn't have that kind of luck: we haven't so far."

"Sowwy." Holly apologized..

"It's not your fault, Geliebte." Blake said with a loving smile. "We just forgot one of the basic rules of combat: no plan survives contact with the enemy."

"But we haven't _had_ contact with the enemy." Taiyang said with a teasing grin.

Blake just groaned, which quickly turned into a chuckle upon seeing/hearing Holly give a raspberry in response to her Grandfather's bad joke. "The point is, no matter what happens, we'll do everything in our power to make sure that neither Paulette nor Barmak gets their hands on you."

Holly simply smiled. "Love you, Papa."

Blake could only give a smile of her own as she laid a kiss on the half-Grimm's forehead. "I love you too, Kitten."

"So, are we just going to _ignore_ that Holly's calling Blake her _Dad_, or…?" Jean couldn't help but ask.

"Shh, let them have their moment." Amarilla said with a grin. "Now, about that _physical _you mentioned."

"Oh, yeah. Well, I guess since it doesn't appear that we'll be seeing any action for a while, I guess now's as good a time as any." Jean led her new teacher into the academy. "Let's go into a room where you'd feel more comfortable taking your clothes off."

"Alright!" Amarilla nodded. "Although, there're _plenty _of places I feel comfortable taking my clothes off."

"Heh, yeah. Wait, what?"

Back in the caves, Team JNPR and Raven followed Fox as he used his equipment to track Ren's heartbeat. "How's it going?" Raven couldn't help but ask.

"Pretty good, though I could locate Ren a bit faster if I didn't have to tune out the approach of Summer, Yang, Weiss, Rachael, and Penny." Fox remarked.

"Wait, what?!" The Branwen chieftess declared. "What are they doing _here?!"_

"Looking for you," was Yang's immediate reply, having apparently overheard the exchange. "While you and Summer might have failed to look _for_ your family for the longest time, I'll _always_ look _after_ it."

"Well, aren't you stubborn?" Raven couldn't help but remark with a smile.

Yang just snorted. "I get it from my Mom: both of them."

"Not to interrupt the family bonding, but where's Ren?" Rachael couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, he got captured by Pyrrha's drug dealers." was Fox's immediate reply.

"Wait, what?"

"Just ignore him." Jaune replied with a roll of her eyes. "Anyways, I somehow doubt it'll take this many people to look for one person, so maybe we should send some people back to let everyone know what we're up to."

"Right." Summer said with a nod. "Rachael, you stay with them: something tells me that your Semblance might come in handy here while the rest of us head back to rendezvous with Ruby and company."

"Fair enough." Rachael remarked, before snapping her fingers, "Oh, but before we forget..." Raven's eyes widened as the Rushland native held up a _very_ familiar looking blade. "Taiyang said that you might need this."

Raven could only give a bliss-filled smile as she held Omen in her hands. "It's no wonder I fell in love with him." She then stiffened, giving Summer a sheepish smile. "Hehe sorry."

"It's fine." Summer said with a wave of her hand, before gaining an impish smile. "I don't mind sharing."

"Okay, maybe we should put that conversation on hold." Penny declared, looking like that her face would be turning tomato red if she were flesh and blood.

"I second that." Weiss remarked, having _actually_ turned tomato red.

_Pamela, currently "standing" between a barely conscious Ren and some of the rogue Doppelgangers, couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh. "Ren, just tell them where Yang and this 'Holly' is, and you can go."_

_Ren groaned groggily. "Wha? P...Pamela, is that you? Why are you helping monster people?"_

_Pamela moved as if to shrug. "Believe it or not, I'm just as much a prisoner as you are; I'd have to do this even if I didn't want to - which I don't." She then paused as one of the Doppelgangers started making some seemingly unintelligible grunts. "Looks like someone's coming. Guess we'll have to cut this short." Looks to Ren as one of the Doppelganger's made their exit. "See you later Ren! By the way, you look like shit! Zing!"_

_Ren sighed as his drowsiness started to catch up with him again. "Uoh, okay, bye. I'm gonna sleep again…"_

"...and that's when I passed out again. Sorry I couldn't be of more help…" Ren declared, wrapping up his story.

Jaune shook his head. "No, it tells us plenty: sounds like not all of the Doppelgangers are capable of speech and as such, Pamela is acting as a translator - unwillingly, from the sound of things. We find her, we find out what Barmak and company are _really_ planning.

Raven nodded. "Sounds like we have the start of a plan, but in the meantime, we should head back to everyone else to let them know what's been going on." They all nodded and began to make their way out of the cave.

"Hey, guys! Come check this out!" Nora called. The group made their way over to the pink-clad girl, surprised at what she had discovered. A multitude of surveillance cameras and monitors were capturing images of the entire academy of Beacon. "I think I found out how the Doppelgangers _know _so much!" Nora declared.

"Holy cow… hey, isn't that _our _room?" Ren pointed out. "And what's that on the floor? It looks like… Amarilla's clothes?"

"Oh, no!" Nora gasped. "Maybe the Doppelgangers got to her! Jean _did _say that they have a taste for blood! Maybe they _ate _her!"

"Oh, my gods!" Pyrrha gasped. "How're we gonna tell _Jaune?!"_

"Tell me what?" Jaune asked, having finally caught up.

"That your sister's been killed by the Doppelgangers." Raven replied.

"WHAT?!"

"Raven!" Pyrrha scolded. "How could you just say that?!"

"Oh, it's like ripping off a _bandaid." _Raven waved the girl off. "Quick and painless."

"What?!" Jaune repeated, still in shock.

"Well, maybe not _quite _painless."

"What…?" Jaune's voice cracked, just his heart broke.

"I… I'm _sorry, _Jaune." Pyrrha offered, softly. "She's _gone."_

"How could this have _happened?" _Jaune cried. "That was my _sister! _I mean, I know we didn't always get along but, I still _loved _her!"

The rest of Team JNPR huddled around their leader, drawing him into a comforting group hug. "I… I don't know what to say, Jaune." Ren spoke up. "But we're all _here _for you."

"I just… I had _no idea _that the last time I spoke to her was gonna be the last time _ever." _Jaune wiped his eyes, starting to calm down. "If I _had, _I would've said something more _meaningful _to her. Or try to make _amends _for how I treated her. And now I'm never gonna get that chance. It's the most _empty feeling _in the whole world."

"Oh, wait, look!" Nora shouted, pointing back to the monitors. "She's not _dead! _She's just _naked!"_

"WHAT?!" Jaune shouted, angrily, breaking the hug apart. "That fucking _slut! _I'm gonna _kill _her!"

"Take a screenshot! Take a screenshot!" Pyrrha demanded, rushing over to the monitors.

Jaune pushed her aside to see for himself. Needless to say, he was understandably furious at the sight of his older sister stretching in the nude. On a live TV monitor, no less. "PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON!' He shouted as if she could hear him. "What's the _one thing _I told you?! Don't _embarrass _me anymore!"

"I don't think she's _embarrassing _anyone - oh, whoa! Why is she doing splits?!" Pyrrha replied, blushing brighter than her hair.

"Ren/Nora, don't look!" Ren and Nora said in unison, covering each other's eyes.

"Wow." Raven cocked her head to the side. "Is this part of that whole _'online dating' _thing I've heard about?"

"Does this thing take _lien bills?" _Pyrrha asked, drooling.

"Oh, _come on, _Pyrrha!" Jaune snapped. "That's my _sister! _And you're looking at her naked!"

"So? She's not _my _sister."

"Stop _looking _at her!"

"How come _Fox _gets to look?!"

"He's _blind! That's _why Fox gets to look!"

"I don't get it;what's the big deal?" Fox shrugged. "Coco, Velvet, and Yats walk around our dorm naked _all the time. _You get used to it."

"Aw, man. She's putting her clothes back on." Pyrrha pouted before feeling the glare coming from her leader. "Uh, I mean, _oh, look! _She is putting her _clothes back on! _Good going, Amarilla!"

"Don't _patronize _me!" Jaune scoffed.

Meanwhile, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Holly, Taiyang, and Summer were still waiting for the enemy to make their move. "Ugh, this is so _boring!" _Yang whined. "How come _we _couldn't have gone into the caves with JNPR? At least _then _we would've seen some action."

"Oh, will you quit _whining?" _Weiss snapped. "It's bad enough dealing with the _anticipation _without having to listen to you _bitch _about how bored you are! We have a plan, and we need to see it _through. _Soon, enough, Tyrian and Barmak will make their move and -"

"Hello, Ms. Shcnee." Tyrian smirked.

"Hello, Tyrian - and when they _do, _we'll-" Weiss whipped around to see the "Mad Scorpion" standing behind her, with a possessed Tukson backing him up. The heiress threw her sword to the ground and proceeded to stomp on it out of frustration. "Son of a - BLEEP -! BLEEP - you, Yang! Why'd you have to - BLEEP - go and distract me?! Now, these - BLEEP - and their - BLEEP - are gonna - BLEEP - our entire plan! BLEEP - my life! Every - BLEEP - day since I first got to this school has been a long - BLEEP - fest of -BLEEP - who all just wanna _bend me over _and - BLEEP - me in - BLEEP-! Like I'm some kinda - BLEEP - receptacle! BLEEP - you all!"

Yang and Blake had instinctively covered all four of Holly's ears before Weiss' long stream of profanities started. Not that they really had to, considering an obnoxious noise had drowned most of it out. "Paulette! Do you _mind?!" _Tyrian snapped.

"Sorry, the control chip in this - BLEEP - faunus is acting up." Paulette explained through the voice of said possessed faunus. "Now, why don't we all take a _deep breath _and consider a surrender?" However, neither Tyrian nor Weiss' friends had noticed her reaching for her scroll while she was busy swearing her lips off.

Back at the ship, Ruby was keeping herself preoccupied by making small talk with Sheila. "And that's why I never eat broccoli."

"That is _fascinating, _Ruby!" Sheila replied. "I can see why so many people like you."

"Aw, shucks. You're not so bad yourself, Sheila." Ruby blushed at the compliment. Yang was right; she _is _a chick magnet. "By the way, Weiss wanted me to tell you that she's sorry for being so angry at you for shooting her by accident."

"That is great to hear. Please tell her that _I _am sorry for enjoying it so much."

Just then, Ruby felt her scroll vibrating in her pocket. "Oh, speaking of Weiss…" She put the scroll on speaker and set it down on one of the control panels. "Hi, Weiss! What's up?"

"So, you've caught us _off-guard, _eh, Tyrian?" Weiss' voice echoed from the communication device.

"What?" Ruby arched an eyebrow. "No, this is _Ruby."_

"Now that you're here, _Tyrian, _I suppose you're going to kidnap Holly."

"What? No, I'm not gonna kidnap Holly. And I told you, I'm _Ruby."_

"If _only _there was someone who could _help _us! With a _tank!"_

"Ugh, and she calls _me_ a dolt." Ruby couldn't help but groan. "It's like we're not even having an actual conversation." She then froze. "Because we're _not._ She must have been cornered by Paulette and company! I have to help her!"

"Like I said, it's no wonder you are so beloved." Sheila declared. "And I'm more than willing to help if you so desire. In fact, I've already come up with a plan that has a 32.333% - repeating of course - chance of success, but with your help I'm sure we can…"

"Alright, let's do this," the hooded huntress remarked as she ran off. "RUBY ROOOSE!"

"...oh, gods: she just ran in," Sheila deadpanned. "Goddamnit Ruby."

Back at Beacon, Tyrian was growing annoyed with Weiss' shouting. "Will you _stop! _I am fully aware of the situation without you pointing out everything!"

"Yeah, what _are _you; the narrator?" Yang added, equally annoyed.

"I just want to make sure _everyone _is on the same page!" Weiss shouted again. Luckily, the tank soon rolled up behind Tyrian and Paulette, much to Weiss' delight. "HA-HA! I can't believe it actually worked! Ruby brought the tank! How do you like _that, _Tyrian?!"

"Oh-ho-ho-ho-_no!" _Tyrian chuckled, sardonically. "What _ever _shall I do?"

"Knock-knock, Weiss." A familiar monotone voice sounded from the tank.

"Oh, _crap." _Weiss muttered.

**To be continued**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Tyrian gave a mad cackle. "You know, I really can't thank you enough for leaving your tank completely unattended. It was very kind of you, old chap. Makes your defeat and humiliation so much easier."

Weiss just scoffed. "Yeah? Well, great. I'm glad we could help. I'm sure if you give us enough time we'll just kill ourselves. Save you some ammo."

Tyrian gave a smug grin. "If it makes you feel any better your death is for a very noble cause."

Taiyang could only growl. "What do you want with Holly and the rest of my family anyway?"

Yang suddenly blinked. "Wait, what? How did we get here?"

Weiss just sighed. "Yang, I've asked this question a _lot,_ and I'm going to keep asking it: what is _wrong_ with you?"

Yang frowned. "With me? What's happening?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Um... we're being held prisoner? Where the hell have _you _been?"

Yang just looked around, looking like she had just been dropped into the conversation. "Wait, what? How? I'm so confused."

Weiss growled. "What do you mean _how?!_ Are you retarded?!"

Yang just shook her head. "But Summer! She..."

Taiyang nodded. "Don't worry, Sweetie. Summer will take him out."

Tyrian just cackled. "Oh right, dear Summer. You mean, _her?"_ As soon as Tyrian said "her", he lunged forward and delivered a punch to Summer's gut - having somehow caught onto the fact that she had been cloaked - knocking her down and out.

Tyrian just scoffed. "Poor Summer. Never could figure out when she'd been beaten."

Weiss just gasped. "What? How did you know where she was?"

Yang growled. "What do you mean? That's where she was before!"

Weiss shook her head. "Before what? Yang, have you gone insane?"

Tryian tilted his head. "Wait a minute, what's going on?!"

Luna/Pamela very nearly gave a sigh of relief. "I think she knows."

Paulette - currently in the cockpit of the tank the monotone A.I. was possessing - gave a nod. "I think you're right."

"CHAAAARGE!" Cried out Ruby as she came over the next hill.

Tyrian scoffed. "It's the idiot. Take care of her. Quickly."

Luna/Pamela sighed. "Sorry, Ruby: I'll try to make this as painless as possible."

Yang sucked in a breath. "Ruby, no, stay back! Don't get near the tank!"

Unfortunately, the warning came too late, as the tank let off a shot that seemingly killed her sister.

"Ruby, NOOOO!" Weiss, Taiyang, and a newly arrived Penny called out.

"Crap; looks like a member of Team RWBY just got shot by the tank." Rachael declared as she exited the cave with everyone else and met up with Team CFVY.

Ren tilted his head. "A Team RWBY member getting shot by a tank? Man, I just had the weirdest sense of déjà vu."

"Heh, speaking of tanks, why don't we have some fun later?" Coco suggested, directing bedroom eyes at Velvet and Yatsuhashi.

Velvet frowned. "Coco, you promised that you'd wait until _after_ the danger has passed, remember?"

"Right, sorry."

"Go, move!" Weiss declared as she, Yang, and Penny ran side-by-side, before suddenly pushing Yang to the ground. "Look out!"

Penny quickly scanned Ruby before giving a sigh. "Good, Ruby's still breathing."

"Right, she's not dead; just unconscious. Just like _last _time." Yang said with a frustrated nod.

"Yang, I know I'm not your team leader, but you are gonna start making sense right now. That's an order!" Penny demanded with a scowl.

Yang just shook her head. "This already happened. Luna shot Ruby - albeit reluctantly - and then Summer jumped Tyrian. She knocked his gun away and then-"

"Hold that thought." Penny said before using one of her sword lasers to take out the Mad Scorpion. "Ha! That's for Ruby, you freak!"

Yang just growled. "This is just like _last _time! Once Tyrian lost, everything seemed to…"

Yang could only blink as she suddenly found herself back beside Weiss and her father being held hostage by the Mad Scorpion. "...reset."

Tyrian gave a mad cackle. "You know, I really can't thank you enough for leaving your tank completely unattended. It was very kind of you, old chap. Makes your defeat and humiliation so much easier."

Weiss just scoffed. "Yeah? Well, great. I'm glad we could help. I'm sure if you give us enough time we'll just kill ourselves. Save you some ammo."

Tyrian gave a smug grin. "If it makes you feel any better your death is for a very noble cause."

Taiyang could only growl. "What do you want with Holly and the rest of my family anyway?"

Suddenly, Yang gained a look of clarity. "Weiss, just for reference, do you know what's going on?"

Weiss just rolled her eyes. "Um... we're being held prisoner? Where the hell have _you_ been?"

The blonde brawler turned to her father. "Dad, do _you_ remember any of this?"

Taiyang blinked. "Yang, sweetie, what the fuck are you talkin' about?"

Luna/Pamela was practically giggling with glee. "She knows."

Tyrian gave a scowl. "How the devil is she keeping up with us?"

Paulette growled. "Irrelevant. Eliminate her." With that, she aimed a tank shell at Yang, which she just barely dodged.

"Go, move!" Yang yelled out. "Summer, look out, he knows where you are!"

"What?" Summer couldn't help but ask as Yang and company ran off.

"CHAAAARGE!" Cried out Ruby as she came over the next hill.

"Oh, shit I forgot about Ruby!" Yang moaned just as a sniper shot managed to knock her sister out.

"OW! I AM DEAD!" Ruby cried in pain as she fell.

"Ruby! NOOOO!" Weiss, Taiyang, and a newly arrived Panny yelled out.

"Yowza! Looks like Ruby just got sniped!" Rachael announced from near the caves.

"Hey, speaking of getting sniped, Velvet, Yatsuhashi, feel like having some... fun later?" Coco's seductive look quickly turned to one of confusion.

"What the hell does _that _mean?" Raven asked, confused by the student's choice of words.

"I'm… not sure." Coco pondered. "It sounded funnier in my head.".

"It doesn't _matter;_ you promised that we'd wait until after the danger had passed, remember?" Velvet remarked.

"Man, I just had the weirdest sense of déjà vu." Ren couldn't help but declare.

"Aw nuts." Yang remarked.

"How can you be so calm?! Ruby just got killed!" Penny growled.

"No, she's just unconscious." Yang corrected. "See, somehow Tyrian keeps looping us through the same events over and over again. And no one but me seems to remember. I don't know how, but every time he gets _hurt _things just start…"

Weiss just scoffed. "Yeah? Well, great. I'm glad we could help. I'm sure if you give us enough time we'll just kill ourselves. Save you some ammo."

Yang, recognizing what was happening, pretended to be ignorant to the whole situation. "Yeah, what do you want with my kid anyway?"

Tryian blinked. "You don't remember?"

Yang shrugged. "Remember? You never told me anything."

Luna/Pamela had to hold back a cheer, realizing that Yang was lying. "I think it worked that time." She lied, deciding to play along.

Paulette/Tukson gave a shrug. "Apparently. We'll have to keep your eye on her, though."

Taiyang blinked. "The fuck are you guys talking about? Oh, you know what, never mind. Keep talking. Waste time until Summer kills you."

Tyrian just scoffed. "Oh right, dear Summer. You mean, _her?"_ As soon as Tyrian said "her", he lunged forward and delivered a punch to Summer's gut - having somehow caught onto the fact that she had been cloaked - knocking her down and out.

Tyrian just scoffed. "Poor Summer. Never could figure out when she'd…"

Yang took this opportunity to step in behind Tyrian and stab him through the chest with her sword. "...been beaten!?" Yang mockingly finished the statement.

"Oh dear!" Tyrian quipped before falling over, dead, as Yang removed her sword.

"Great job Yang!" Luna/Pamela couldn't help but cheer.

"You know me: I look after my friends and family." The blonde brawler said with a wink.

"CHAAAARGE!" cried out Ruby as she came over the next hill.

"I got this one." Luna/Pamela declared, using Paulette's confusion to her advantage to shoot a shell right in front of the hooded huntress without harming her before the angry A.I. could stop her.

"Wait, did I seriously try to 'Leeroy Jenkins' things?" Ruby remarked as she quickly made her retreat to come up with an _actual_ plan. "What was I _thinking?!"_

"Good news everyone," Rachael said with a smile. "Looks like Yang just stabbed Tyrian in the gut."

Coco gained a flirty look. "Hey, speaking of getting stabbed…"

"Coco, stop." Velvet interrupted. "Remember your promise?" She gained a set of bedroom eyes of her own. "We can do that _after_ we're sure our friends are safe."

Ren just groaned. "Man I just had the weirdest sense of... meh what's that thing called? When you think you've done something, but you don't know if you did it?"

"How the fuck should _I_ know?" Nora declared.

"Yang, how did you know that was gonna happen?" Weiss couldn't help but ask even as Penny joined up with their group.

Yang, feeling a sense of relief now that the time loop is over, couldn't help but smile. "Because of Tyrian. You know how Summer said that everyone who had an association with Project Huntsman had an A.I. and a special ability? I think that _he_ could loop us through little segments of time, and he just kept doing it over and over until he won."

Penny looked like she would have paled if she were flesh and blood. "Wait, what? How many times did we loop?"

Yang shrugged. "Not sure, but why does it matter? He's dead now."

Penny shook her head. "Yes, but don't you remember our trip through time? I got stuck in a loop for a while, and every time I went back, I left a bunch of…" They both froze as they came face to face with multiple duplicates of Tyrian/Agent Black as they rounded a corner. All Penny could do was gulp. "...copies."

Tyrian/Agent Black - all of them - soon gave a malicious smile. "Hello." They all chuckled before proceeding to give a maniacal laugh.

"Whoa!" Rachael exclaimed. "Penny, Weiss, and Yang are under attack by a bunch of crazy scorpion people!"

"What?!" Raven snatched the binoculars away from the Rushland native. "Oh, _fuck _no! I am _not _losing my daughter again! We have to go help them!"

"Uh, Raven, I'm not sure that's a good idea." Ren countered. "We don't have any resources to take on a _tank. _All we have is the _Warthog _and a few Dust cartridges."

"Hmmm…." Raven rubbed her chin in thought as she looked at the vehicle with interest.

Ren let out a heavy sigh. "Y'know… _one _of these days - and I don't know _when - _I'm gonna learn to shut my fucking mouth."

Meanwhile, Yang continued to guide Penny and Weiss out of harm's way while Taiyang went to distract a group of duplicates on his own to give them more time to escape. "Penny, _duck!" _She shouted.

On instinct, the android did as she was told and just _barely_ dodged an incoming sniper shot. "Wait, are your parents going to be okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, they'll be fine." Yang promised. "Eventually, they meet up with Blake to check on Holly, kill the Tyrian's, and meet up with us at the rocks on our left. Weiss, duck!"

Weiss knelt down, dodging another sniper shot. "You know, I'm starting to _like _this new _all-knowing _Yang. But I still don't understand _how _you know what's going to happen before it does. Why weren't _you _affected by Tyrian's looping?"

Yang dodged another bullet before answering. "I'm not quite sure, either! Pamela said it probably had something to do with the _sword! _But for now, let's just get to the rocks!"

"Okay!" Weiss shouted before running to the wrong rocks.

"No, wait!"

"Knock, knock, Weiss!" Pamela's voice boomed.

"Oh, shit!" The heiress rushed away from the tank back to her friends.

"Sorry!" Yang yelled as a shell exploded behind them. "I meant the _other _rocks!"

"I take it back! You _still _suck!"

Eventually, Penny, Weiss, and Yang hid behind the proper rocks with Summer as they were being assaulted by hundreds of Tyrian's temporal duplicates. "Okay, I'll take the ones on the left, you take the ones on the right."

Summer gave a startled gasp. "Penny, there's twice as many on the left!"

Penny nodded. "I know. I can count." She sighed. "Look, Ruby and Yang already lost you once: I'm not about to let that happen again anytime soon."

Yang smirked. "...and you won't: just keep backing them up!"

Penny quirked an eyebrow. "Why? What are we waiting...?" She paused "Wait a sec; the fudge is that music?!"

Taiyang let out a laugh as he, Raven, and Team CFVY came in on the Warthog shooting the Tyrian duplicates in the head(s). "How's _that_ for riding _shotgun?!"_

Velvet groaned. "I'm going to make sure Summer punishes you for that one later…"

Taiyang smirked. "Oh, I _hope_ she does…"

Rachael cringed. "Quick, Coco: go on a murderous rampage to help me get that image out of my head!"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'm!" Coco declared with an excited chuckle before starting to tear the Tyrian duplicates apart. "Yeah, go Team CFVY! And you too, RWBY! Suck it, you insects!"

Fox blinked. "Uh, actually scorpions are arachnids…"

"Shut up and keep shooting them!" Coco yelled out before continuing to decimate the Tryian army alongside the others. "Yeah, get some! Suck it, you pale reflections! You want some? How about this? You like that? I got plenty more, you psychos!"

Meanwhile, Ruby quickly ran up to them, sternly yelling out, "Hey, jerks: who told you that you were allowed to pick on Penny!?" Unfortunately, she soon found herself freezing with a blink upon noticing the carnage, and groaned. "Oh, don't tell me I missed it…"

Yang gave a sheepish laugh. "Yeeah: sorry, Ruby…"

"Congratulations on defeating Tyrian," Luna/Pamela declared as she approached them in the tank, sounding just a tad bit nervous. "Unfortunately, it turns out that you _can_ affect a tank, or the A.I. controlling it, with Control Chips. Three guesses what Paulette had placed on me as a contingency and what she ordered me to do, and the first two don't count."

"No worries, Luna," Yang said with a light grin even as Luna/Pamela aimed the tank's barrel at the group. "Blake and I figured that this might happen, which is why we had a contingency plan of our own in place. Dad, NOW!"

"_Tanks_ for playing," Taiyang declared - having managed to sneak up on Luna/Pamela - as he clamped a hardline onto the tank the monotone A.I. was possessing.

"Wait, what?" Luna/Pamela declared as she soon found her consciousness being transferred from the tank into the same Manta that Sheila was inhabiting.

"Hope you aren't _too_ uncomfortable in there, Luna," Blake said with a smile, before frowning. "Actually, that reminds me: it's not too cramped in there now, is it, Sheila?"

"I'm just fine, Blake." Sheila declared. "You're safe now, my friend."

"Thank you," Luna/Pamela whispered, briefly losing her monotone, a few tears of joy/relief appearing on her digital face.

Meanwhile, one remaining Tyrian was being interrogated by Summer, Raven, and Taiyang. "Now, I believe I asked you a _question _earlier." Taiyang cracked his knuckles, threateningly.

"Why do I want your grandchild?" Tyrian smirked, in spite of his situation. "Well, it's _simple, _really… my employers want to have Paulette possess the little tot so that she can lead the Doppelgangers into _obeying _humans!"

"That's _insane!" _Raven spluttered.

"No! That's our _job!" _Tyrian retorted. "To protect humans against the Grimm at _all cost! _It's why we were selected for _Guardsman; _because _we _can do what _huntsmen _can't to keep our families safe!"

"Okay, no offense, dude, but you're _insane." _Taiyang snorted. "I guess you'll have to tell your boss that you _failed."_

"Oh-ho-ho-ho! On the _contrary, _now that Summer knows about our plan, she's not just going to let us do it… she's going to _help _us!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Summer would _never… _Summer?"

"He's right." Summer sighed, and shot the faunus in the forehead.

"Summer! What're you doing?!"

"This is Guardsman Agent Rose broadcasting on an open channel! You _want _me, Paulette?" Summer goaded. "Come and _get _me!"

**To Be Continued**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

"This is Yang Xiao Long broadcasting on open channel."

Summer blinked. "Uh, Sweetie."

"Ruby, do me a favor and turn on your radio."

"Fire Lily."

"Blake, any chance you learned any tricks on boasting a radio signal while in the White Fang?"

"YANG!" Summer finally yelled, "What are you doing?!"

"What am _I_ doing?!" The blonde brawler asked. "What are _you_ doing?! Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed!?"

"Wha…?"

"I finally got it, you know." Yang said with a sigh. "You mentioned during your explanation that there were one or two other commands from President Jackass that became permanent, but at the time I was too upset to understand what that meant."

"What are you…?"

"'Follow all Project Huntsman orders.'" Yang declared, making Summer freeze in her tracks. "That was one of Jackass' commands, wasn't it?"

"How did you…?"

"I didn't know for sure until you told me just now." Yang said with a shrug even as a tear leaked from her eye. "But it was the only thing that made sense."

Yang quickly wrapped Summer Rose up into a hug. "You were only able to see us after you were literally ordered to do so...and I went and…"

"Shh, it's okay, Sweetie," Summer said as she returned the hug, even as she let out a few tears of happiness, knowing that the first step to truly repairing their bond had been taken. "You didn't know...but you _are_ right. Even now, I feel this itch in the back of my mind telling me to take all of you out and let Holly be captured. I've long since learned how to ignore it to a degree, but unfortunately, that itch won't go away until the 'mission' ends or I get orders from a higher ranking officer."

"Well in that case, stand down, Agent Rose," came the command of one Professor Ozpin, who was followed closely by Jasmine and company.

"Professor Ozpin?!" Summer Rose declared, not _quite_ registering the "itch" had vanished due to her shock. "What are you…?"

"The Professor and I were just discussing the terms of the alliance I proposed." Jasmine remarked, sighing as she looked upon Holly. "Such a shame that Alex is not here at the moment: he'd be over the moon to know that this day has finally come."

"Wait a minute; you…?" Needless to say, Penny didn't _quite_ know how to finish her question even as she pointed at Ozpin.

The vessel of the reincarnating wizard gave a bitter chuckle. "Jacques did his best to keep as much distance between me and 'his' project as possible, but he never _was_ able to _completely_ get rid of my authority as a _founder_ of 'Project Huntsman', so there's little he can do to stop _this:_ from this moment on, Agent Rose, obey only the commands you yourself wish to follow: you are a slave to no one."

"That's great and all," Raven remarked, briefly smiling as Summer looked like a _massive_ weight had been lifted off her shoulders, "but we've still got a psychotic A.I. who's no doubt started to narrow down our location despite Yang's little radio show. We still need a plan on how to deal with her."

"And I think I've got one." Taiyang offered. "When Paulette takes over Summer, we'll isolate her just like we did with _Sheila _and _Pamela. _Shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"Yang, did you call me?" Pyrrha's voice came over Yang's scroll.

"Oh, shit! Pyrrha!" Yang yelped.

"Huurk! SHUT UP, YOU WORTHLESS SACK OF MEAT!" Pyrrha suddenly snapped. "And you know what?! I'm _not _sorry! I'm _never _sorry! From now on, you'll all have to tell me that _you're _sorry! MWA-HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"... I think I know where Paulette is." Yang said.

Meanwhile, inside Pyrrha's mind, Paulette was becoming acutely aware of her surroundings. "What?! _No! _This is _not _the mind I meant to possess!"

"Oh, why _hello, _there!" Mental Pyrrha greeted her as she set her weapons on the floor. "Oh, Jaune! We have a guest! Will you be a dear and get some wine from the cellar?"

Suddenly, a mental image of Jaune Arc - effortlessly carrying five babies with red and blonde hair - came into existence. "Sure thing, beautiful! Just let me put our _miracles _to bed!"

"Hurry back, _darling~!" _Mental Pyrrha kissed the air.

"My feet have _wings, _sweet tush~!" Mental Jaune kissed back.

"Dear _gods. _If I had a stomach, I'd be vomiting _so hard." _Paulette cringed.

Back in the real world, Pyrrha had pinned her team leader to a tree with a crazed look in her eyes. "Pyrrha?! What are you _doing?!" _He cried, fearfully.

"Silence, you ignorant _tease!" _The invincible girl snapped. "I have been sending you signals for _months! _But _no more! _ From now on, _every evening, _you will make _sweet, passionate love _to me until it feels as if your _heart _is going to explode! And _quit _chasing after that white-haired bitch! Or else, I'll cut your _nuts _off!MWA-HAHAHAHA! MWA-HAHAHAHA!" Just then, Nora and Ren - having been informed of Paulette - began beating their possessed friend in the hopes of exorcising the malevolent A.I. "Ow! The back of my lower legs! Ow! The side of my head! The front of my front-!"

"Hey, guys? Are we still talking on the radio?" Ruby asked, only for Paulette to take advantage of her naivety. "Because I _love _to talk on the radio! MWA-HAHAHAHA! Wait a minute… what am I doing back in _this _idiot?!"

"Oh, _no _you don't!" Weiss shouted. Putting on a slimmer version of the mental-connection device, Weiss easily followed Paulette into Ruby's mind, only to be greeted by a familiar blonde brawler.

"Yang?" Weiss arched an eyebrow. "What're _you _doing… oh, right."

"Hey, check it out!" Mental Yang shouted, swinging her sword around, happily. "I have a stupid sword, and I won't let anyone else play with it! But that's fine, because no one even _wants _to play with it! Also, I have a half-grimm baby with Blake! And I still won't tell Ruby how babies are made! But I don't _have _to, because _everyone _knows where babies come from! Stupid babies!"

"Okay, everyone _stop!" _Weiss shouted. "I need you to take me to Ruby, _right now!"_

"What?!" Mental Jaune barfed. "Why would _you _want to see Ruby?"

"Because I…" Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Because I am… her _waifu."_

"Oh. Well, why didn't you just say so?"

Just then, her scroll went off, causing Weiss to frown. "That's weird. I didn't think that this would actually _work_ in here. Also, who would be calling me in _here?"_ she couldn't help but ask, only to blink as the Mental images looked at her in confusion. "I...I mean, I thought for _sure_ that I had turned this thing off. I didn't want any interruptions while I spoke with my future consort _in person."_

"Ah. Yeah, that makes sense." Mental Jaune remarked.

"Wow, she really _does_ love my sister." Mental Yang declared, the twin comments filling the heiress with both relief and remorse. Relief that the Mental images had been fooled and thus Paulette was ignorant of her presence for the moment. Remorse because Mental-Yang's commentary proved that a small part of Ruby - and Yang, by extension - _still_ had some lingering fears about her partner hating her.

"I'll need to remember to put any doubts you have about me to rest for good at some point," Weiss directed at Mental-Yang - and by extension Ruby herself - with a nod before walking off a safe distance to answer her scroll. "Uh, hello?"

"Why so nervous, your grace?" came the voice of _her_ Mental image. "After all, if you can't trust yourself, who _can_ you trust?"

Weiss couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh. "Nice to know you're alive and kicking...though not to seem rude or anything, but…"

"... 'I'm not you.' Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before, you know." Mental-Weiss could be _heard_ rolling her eyes over the scroll. "Thanks for throwing a temper tantrum about it and getting me killed, btw."

"Wait, you…?"

"OF COURSE I REMEMBER IT, YOU DUNCE!" Mental-Weiss yelled out, before gasping. "...no one's heard that, right?"

"No, but…"

"I"m Ruby's memory of _you,_ remember?" Mental-Weiss snapped. "That means everything she knows about you, even subconsciously, is stored up in _me._ I know everything about you… including how _you_ got _me_ killed because of how much you…"

"I DON'T HATE HER!" Weiss yelled out, briefly looking around, breathing a sigh of relief when she found that Paulette hadn't discovered her. "I _don't_ hate her. If anything, _I'm_ the one I hate. I hate that I'm constantly losing my temper and putting my friends and loved ones in danger as a result. I hate that I couldn't do _anything_ to stop all the suffering that Blake, Yang, Penny, and especially Ruby have had to go through. I hate that it took me so long to realize just how much each and every one of my friends and loved ones mean to me." Briefly pausing, she attempted to do a summon of her Arma Gigas, only to fail once again, letting a tear fall from her eye. "I just...I hate how _weak_ I am sometimes."

"You're not weak." Mental-Weiss could be _heard_ grinning over the scroll. "Temperamental? Yes. Stubborn? Definitely. But weak? No. The only way you'll ever _truly_ be weak is if you stop trying. That's probably why I...why _we_ fell in love with the little Dolt: despite all that she's had to go through, despite all the pain, not even once has she ever stopped trying to do what's best for everyone around her. It's her greatest strength: the ability to look the forces of Darkness right in the eye and say, 'Back off,' without even flinching...but she's still only one person. She needs someone like you or Penny to have her back when the Darkness becomes too strong: to let her know that she doesn't _have_ to fight her battles alone."

"...I don't know if I'm strong enough to do that," Weiss finally said with a nod, "but I _do_ know that I'm willing to try." She then let out a bitter chuckle. "I realize this isn't entirely accurate, but still: kind of odd, getting a pep talk from myself."

"I'm a part of Ruby: you _know_ that she would do this if she had the opportunity, just like _you_ would do the same for _her."_

"Touche," Weiss remarked, before blinking. "Speaking of which, where _is_ Ruby? Actually now that I think of it, where are _you?"_

"Regarding your latter question, currently, Penny - or as you know her as, 'Mental-Penny,' - and I are trying to avoid Paulette." Mental-Weiss declared with a huff. "Apparently, Paulette doesn't want to deal with the risk of the two of us interfering in her plans again and thus intends to get rid of us as soon as possible. As for Ruby…"

"...she's right behind you," a newly arrived Paulette declared, holding Mental-Ruby up by the throat. "Despite this not being who I intended to possess, I _do_ recall having some good memories within this body."

With that, Paulette threw Mental-Ruby on the ground before taking out a pistol, giving Weiss a menacing grin as she did. "You have two choices, Schnee: leave and I'll spare your partner's life. Stay and fight, and I put one right between her eyes."

Weiss looked at Mental-Ruby, noting that there was nothing but pity in her eyes as she gazed upon Paulette, before shaking her head. "...no you won't." Weiss declared. "If you _truly_ wanted to kill her, you would have done it before you even confronted me. And come to think of it, it's pretty weird that I managed to survive a tank shell that was meant to _kill_ Ruby during my _last_ visit to this place. I suspect not only that you _won't_ kill Ruby, but you _can't:_ not in here, at least."

"What do you mean?" Paulette demanded, Mental-Ruby giving Weiss a look that asked the same thing.

"You feel it, don't you?" Weiss asked with a raised eyebrow. "Despite all you've done, Ruby _still_ views you as her _sister,_ and she'd _never_ harm those she considers her friends or family… which means, neither will you."

"Wha...what are you saying?" For the first time since they'd met her, Paulette was actually sounding _afraid._

Weiss approached Mental-Ruby, a confident expression on her face. "You think you have control. That you can make Ruby - make _us -_ as angry as you'd like. But that connection goes both ways. You feel everything your 'puppet' feels. You feel _everything."_ And that was all the warning Mental-Ruby got before Weiss placed her lips on top of hers.

Needless to say, Paulette wasn't expecting that...nor did she expect the surge of positive emotions that assaulted her core. Like Weiss had said, the connection went both ways, and it seemed that Weiss was determined to showcase all the emotions she had for the hooded huntress within her kiss. _ALL_ of her emotions. More specifically, her _positive_ emotions. "Wha...what is this? Where's the rage? _Where's the rage!?"_ She then gave a frightened growl. "I have no choice: I'll have to resort to _that."_ With that, the angry A.I. disappeared.

"What did she mean by that?!" Weiss demanded as she broke the kiss.

"Clearing the board," Mental-Ruby declared, a grim look on her face. "She wouldn't tell me much, but Paulette kept going on and on about some 'endgame' that she had in reserve. About two miles North of Beacon."

Weiss could only give a nod by way of reply. "We'll take care of it...but first, I need to ask: are you okay?"

"I am now," Mental-Ruby said with a sigh of relief, before gaining a blush. "So, uh, pretty clever, using the connection I had with Paulette against her."

"Turning Paulette's own strengths against her _was_ my basic strategy, but the kiss? Nothing 'strategic' about it," Weiss declared, giving Mental-Ruby a quick peck on the lips with a smile despite knowing that this wasn't _her_ Ruby, not really. "I love you, Dolt."

"G...good to know," Mental-Ruby managed to say before Weiss made her return to the real world. However, had the Schnee heiress stayed just a bit longer, she might have noticed a caterpillar finishing it's climb over a tiny, glowing white broadsword that suddenly vanished in a sparkling flash. She also would have noticed Mental-Penny returning to the group, wearing a stereotypical Japanese schoolgirl outfit. Mental-Ruby held both Mental-Weiss' and Mental-Penny's hands, giving each of them a kiss on the cheek.

"B-but, Ruby-san…" Mental-Penny stammered. "A-aren't I-"

"Don't worry, my love. I have _two _hands for a reason." Mental-Ruby replied. "Besides; my mom's brain just makes up a little bit of you. So it doesn't count."

Back in the real world, Weiss wasn't surprised to see that Paulette was still wreaking havoc on her friends.

"Give it up, Paulette: it's over." Summer declared with a nod.

"Over?" Paulette laughed as her Doppelganger allies - having been contacted shortly after she had exited Ruby's mindscape -dropped a rather large machine off of the stolen Manta that she and Tyrian had escaped on earlier. "My old friend, it hasn't even _begun."_

Ruby gasped. "That's...that's the machine from the blueprints she showed me back when she tried to make me surrender myself to her."

Raven looked upon the machine in front of them...and paled. "Oh, shoot: she found the Branwen Tribe's secret weapon. The leader before me had started development on a weather control device, but I abandoned the project as my own status as the Spring Maiden more-or-less rendered it unnecessary, though I kept it around to keep it out of the wrong hands...but how is that thing even running? It was always missing two important pieces of technology to make it work!"

Paulette just gave a smug laugh. "Got to love Atlas: they've got _plenty_ of circuit boards that your predecessor could only _dream_ of getting his hands on - one of which my associate Agent Black was kind enough to grab for me before his unfortunate passing - and now that I've located those 'D' batteries, all of Remnant will be mine!"

Yang couldn't help but give Raven a flat look. "Seriously? I mean, I understand the circuit board - I don't think you could be 100% certain you'd be grabbing the right one - but you weren't able to locate 'D' batteries?!"

Raven simply gave a sheepish grin and a shrug. "Only at gas stations, and the tribe wasn't exactly rolling in money at the time. Why do you _think_ we raided neighboring settlements so much? Besides, like I said, my status as the Spring Maiden more-or-less rendered the whole thing obsolete."

Paulette gave a dark chuckle. "Well, let's see just how 'obsolete' it is."

Penny just gave a determined nod. "Yes. _Let's."_

"Ah, _yes… _the _machine." _Paulette cackled as she lunged forward to possess the strongest member of Team CPPR. Just as Penny had hoped, the malevolent A.I. had dug her cybernetic fingernails into her digital mind, trying to possess her.

"AH! Summer, _now! _Before she-!" Penny's fear was soon proven as she froze in place… only to blink in confusion. "Huh. That's weird. I don't... feel any differently."

"Neither did I at first." Ruby declared, "but why take chances?" With that, Summer connected the hardline from Sheila into Penny's head, sending the A.I. into the ship along with Pamela.

"You okay, Sheila?" The Guardsman asked.

"Yes. She is trying to get through my fire walls, but she is having trouble trying. She is _not _very smart."

"I heard that," Paulette declared with a growl.

"Then it's time for us to _head off." _Summer declared with a nod.

"You really have to go?" Ruby found herself asking sometime later.

"I'm afraid so," Summer declared even as she brought her daughter into a hug. "As far as Jacques knows, I'm still his thrall. If I don't head back, he might take drastic measures to try and get me back under his control." She smiled. "But don't worry: I won't be leaving until tomorrow, and I'll be contacting you and your sisters as often as I can. In the meantime, however, never forget that your mother has _always_ loved you."

"I… _we_ love you too," Yang said as she joined in on the hug with a sigh. "I guess this is goodbye, then."

"No it's not," Summer immediately replied. "Never say goodbye. I _hate_ goodbyes. We _will_ see each other again: I _promise."_

Penny nodded as she too joined in on the embrace. "I've said it before while I was in the past and I'll say it again: I'm _honored_ to call you 'Mom.'"

"And _I_ am honored to call you my daughters," Summer said even as she broke the embrace, before looking towards Blake and Weiss. "Look after them for me, okay?"

"Always," Blake and Weiss declared together.

Summe gave Holly a kiss on the forehead. "Take care, Gelibiebte."

"Bless you," Ruby remarked.

"No, you dolt," Weiss declared with a roll of her eyes. "That's an German term. It means 'Beloved.'"

"So, when are you going to start calling my sister that?" Yang suddenly asked, a teasing grin on her face.

Taiyang gave a brief chuckle as he and Raven approached the group, even as Weiss' face turned a scarlet red. "So, you're leaving us."

"Not until tomorrow," Summer said with a nod. "But yes: I need to keep Ozpin informed of what Jacques is up to and this is the best way to do so. Don't worry, though: tonight, we intend to make up for lost time."

Taiyang gave a blush as he noticed his wife's bedroom eyes. "Well, you won't hear _me_ complaining about...wait: '_we?'"_

Here, Raven gave a flirtatious smile of her own. "Yes, 'we.' After all, Summer _did_ say that she was okay with _sharing._ Don't worry, Tai: I won't bite… _much."_

"...I am both _terrified_ and _aroused."_ Taiyang couldn't help but remark.

"You should be," Summer declared as she and Raven dragged the man towards the nearest bedroom. "After all, we _both_ have _several years_ of pent up _tension_ to _unleash."_

"Yang, I'm not sure how I feel about this," Ruby directed at her sister.

"I know what you mean, sis. _I know what you mean."_

The next day, having said their final goodbyes to Summer alongside everyone else - except Taiyang, who was still unconscious from the night before - Ruby and Penny decided it might be a good idea to make sure that Barmak, Mirror, whatever his name was didn't make another appearance.

"Hey, Penny?" Ruby asked.

"Yes?"

"Do you ever wonder why we're here?"

Penny smiled at her best friend and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "You know what, Ruby? I used to not care. I used to just follow my orders, try to make friends, and hope everything would turn out alright. But you know what I've learned? I've learned that following orders isn't always the right thing to do. Especially when those orders risk hurting your friends. Even if your friends are a bit of a weapons nut. Or an ice queen. Or a shut in. Or a musclehead. I mean, those aren't reasons to _hurt _someone. In fact, it's those qualities that make those people more _endearing. _Especially since your best friend turns out to be the real daughter of the woman whose brain formed the basis of your consciousness, which - while it ruined your chances at a romantic relationship with her - actually means that you're closer to her than you ever thought! And because of that, you can't stand to see anything happen to them. Because you _love _them. In ways more than a girlfriend, or a sister, or a person. You love them, because they're _them."_

A long awkward silence hung over the air as Ruby's cheeks slowly heated up. "Uh… I meant, 'why are we up _here _in the _sun, _when we could be down _there _in the _shade?'"_

"Oh…" Penny suddenly felt embarrassed at the long revelation and decided to brush it off. "Yeah, let's go stand in the shade."

Meanwhile, Nora and Ren spotted the two friends talking as they went off to get lunch. "What're they doing?" Nora asked.

"What?"

"I said 'what're they doing _now?'"_

"I don't _know." _Ren shrugged. _"Talking. _That's _all _they're doing. That's all those two _ever _do; just _stand around _and _talk."_

"... what're they talking about?" Nora smiled, cheekily.

"You know what?" Ren sighed. "You may be an obnoxious, babbling, uber-violent _nut… _but you're _my _obnoxious, babbling, uber-violent nut."

"Aaaw!" Nora gushed.

"Hey! You two!" Raven shouted, despite the slight spring she now had in her step. "Come help me load this stuff into the Warthog before I come over there and-!"

"I'm gonna stop you right there!" Ren interrupted. "You don't need to finish that threat, we'll be right over!"

"Hehe!" Nora giggled. "You're scared of bats _and _women!"

"Hey, Nora?" Ren smirked. _"Shotgun."_

"Fuck!" Nora cursed.

**To Be Continued**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

A few weeks after the scuffle with Paulette, a Manta made its approach to Beacon. "Are you doing okay back there?" The pilot asked.

His lone passenger gave a bitter chuckle. "No worries, pal. This is a lot more comfortable then where I've been spending the night the past few years."

"If you say so." The pilot said with a shrug before the cup holder suddenly snapped, sending his mug of coffee falling to the ground, breaking it. "Nuts. That was a gift from my wife. Knew I should have just brought my thermos." He looked back at his passenger. "Still, being called here by Professor Ozpin himself. Lucky you, huh?"

Qrow Branwen simply looked at the broken mug with a sigh. "Yeah. _'Lucky.'"_

A few hours later, Ruby, Weiss, and Penny could be found helping Blake and Yang look after Holly. "Still no word on Barmak?" Holly couldn't help but ask, a slight tremble in her voice.

"Unfortunately not," Weiss declared. It still astounded her how fast the child was developing - already she was walking on her own and talking in complete sentences - though she chalked it up to being half-Grimm. "It seems he went underground after Paulette was captured."

"Makes sense." Ruby remarked. "I was able to take out Future-Barmak because he had over a thousand years to get cocky. _Our_ Barmak has seen that we're a threat, so he won't make any drastic moves."

"Right." Penny said with a nod. "But Jasmine promised to keep an eye out for him and between her and Ozpin, we _should_ know if and when he or Salem make a move."

"Still hard to believe that Ozpin - well, _Ozma_ \- and Salem used to be lovers." Yang remarked. "Or that she's trying to get revenge on the gods themselves for letting him die the first time."

Blake nodded. "Hopefully, that information Ozymandias gave him will help end their centuries-long lovers spat."

"I'm sure things will work out in the end, Dad." Holly smiled.

"I'm… still not quite used to her calling you that." Weiss directed at her Faunus teammate.

"I'm half-Grimm, I _somehow_ have Faunus features, my date of birth is _literally_ over a thousand years in the future, I live on the campus of a school that teaches its students how to kill monsters, said school has had six seperate A.I.s show up, some of whom have acted as my babysitter from time to time, the headmaster of said school is the reincarnation of an ancient wizard, my biological father is wanted for treason, among other crimes, my godmother is the leader of the Doppelganger resistance, I have three grandparents on my Mom's side of the family, one of whom is the Spring Maiden, my Aunt and I are _both_ part of an ancient prophecy concerning a centuries-old witch, and the fact that I'm calling my Mom's female fiance 'Dad' is the thing that bothers you?!" Holly asked with a raised eyebrow.

Weiss couldn't help but give a sheepish blush. "Well, when you put it like _that…"_

Holly just let out a chuckle. "I'm well aware that my life isn't what most would consider 'normal,' but normal was _never_ an option for me. The way I see it, you guys are my family, and that will never change."

At this, Blake heard an unfamiliar voice give a chuckle. "Well if you want an unconventional family, you've come to the right place."

The ex-White Fang member blinked as she looked towards the newcomer. "And you would be…?"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed, running up and latching onto his arm. "Hi. _Ooh,_ it's so good to see you. Did you miss me? Did you miss me?!"

The man gave a teasing grin. "Nope." he declared, the way he rubbed the girl's hair with affection afterwards serving to showcase that _that_ had been a lie.

"So, _you're_ 'Uncle Qrow.'" Weiss remarked.

"You've heard of me?" Qrow Branwen couldn't help but ask.

"Let's just say that we're well aware of how fondly your niece remembers you." Penny said with a smile, she and Weiss recalling how they had met Ruby's memory of the man in front of them while dealing with Paulette.

"Good to know." Qrow said with a grin, before letting out a wince upon seeing Yang's prosthetic. "Ouch. Looks like you forgot how to dodge, Firecracker."

Yang looked down at where a powerful flesh and blood right limb used to be with a shrug. "Yeah, my ability to fight wasn't quite _right_ that day." The blonde brawler said with a grin as she held up her other arm. "But don't worry, my fire hasn't _left_ me just yet."

Qrow could only shake his head as everyone else gave a groan. "I'd say it's nice to know it didn't hurt your sense of humor, but you never _had_ one in the first place." Needless to say, that comment earned him a punch to the shoulder, to which he merely gave a bitter chuckle before flinching at the sight of the pasty-skinned blonde girl hugging his niece's leg. "What the _fuck _is that?"

"Hi! I'm Holly!" The hybrid smiled widely.

"I… I don't… I have _no _idea how to react to this." Qrow stated, uneasily.

"You'll get used to it." Ruby replied, before leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Just don't let her bite you."

"BRANWEN!" The group jumped in terror at the familiar voice, followed by the clicking of high heels on cobblestone. Glynda stormed up to her ally with her usual glare. Behind her, followed an android with fair skin, dark hair, and purple eyes. "You're _late!"_

"Good to see you, too, Goodwitch." Qrow crossed his arms before giving a greeting nod towards the android. "Hey, Phoebe."

"Hi, Agent Gray." Phoebe waved back, nervously.

"'Agent Gray?'" Ruby looked back at her uncle with a gleam in her eyes. "Uncle Qrow, are _you _a Guardsman?"

"Cat's out of the bag." Qrow shrugged before turning to the cat faunus. "Uh, _no offense."_

Blake just rolled her eyes.

"Are you _recovering _alright, Agent Gray?" Phoebe went on. "And I was actually wondering, how's Pen-?"

Glynda cupped a hand over her "daughter's" mouth as she spoke, sternly, to Qrow. "Enough! Branwen, Ozpin was expecting you _eighteen minutes _ago! Follow me, _now!"_

"Yeah, yeah, _whatever." _Qrow looked over his shoulder as he walked. "Eh, sorry, kiddos. We'll have time to catch up, _later."_

As the two adults and the android headed into the school, Ruby turned back to her friends. "What was _that _all about?"

"How should I know?" Yang shrugged. "Qrow get's under _so many people's _skin, it's almost _impossible _to keep track of what he does wrong. We'll just have to hope everything goes well."

"Don't you mean… '_Qrows _well?'" Holly snickered.

While everyone else groaned at the awful pun, Yang just wiped away a stray tear of joy. "I'm so _proud." _She gushed.

Meanwhile, Qrow already knew the way to Ozpin's office, so Glynda and her artificial daughter trailed further behind him, where he couldn't hear them. "What's wrong, Mom?" Phoebe asked. "Was it something I said?"

"Not exactly, sweetie." Glynda sighed. "It's just that… Agent Gray had a bit of a _bad experience _with your little sister. So far, it seems that he's recovered. But to be _safe, _we don't want to mention his _A.I. _in front of him and risk a _relapse."_

"Oh, okay." Phoebe nodded.

At last, the group reached the headmaster's office. "Greetings, Mr. Branwen." Ozip said through a sip of coffee. "I must say, I was _surprised _when you agreed to meet with me. I honestly hadn't thought you'd _recovered, _yet."

"Yeah, well, I'm _fine." _Qrow replied, taking out his flask. "All back to _normal, _y'know."

"That's good. Because I have an important assignment for you." Ozpin set his mug down and threaded his fingers together. "That is, assuming you _are _fully recovered?"

"I'm _fine." _Qrow put his flask away and stepped closer to Ozpin's desk. "I've put the past_ behind _me. Just tell me what you need me to do."

"Very well." Ozpin conceded. Reaching into his desk, the headmaster pulled out a manilla folder and handed it to the drunken huntsman. "The reason I selected you for this mission actually relates to your recovery. I'm sure you've already been briefed on Summer Rose's recent visit to this school?"

"Yeah. I heard about it."

"Well, she was supposed to return to the Schnee Dust Company under the pretenses that she was still under his control. Along with her, she took _Paulette _and _Pamela. _She was supposed to act as a spy for me inside his operation, but she hasn't responded in _days. _Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find Summer Rose, and - if necessary - take over her mission."

"I'll see what I can do," Qrow promised, before pausing. "This folder isn't going to self-destruct or anything, is it?"

"No, of _course_ not," Phoebe declared with a grin, "thought that _would_ be kind of cool."

Sometime later, Qrow found himself walking back through the halls of the academy, reading over the contents of the manilla folder. "What were you _up _to, Summer?" He asked, himself. Reuniting with Summer Rose when they both joined Project Guardsman had been one of the biggest reliefs of his life. And yet, something had definitely changed about her. She was still as caring and enthusiastic as she had been in their youth, but the spark of innocence was long gone. She became slightly colder. More distant. And before he had a chance to understand why, he had been integrated with -

"No!" He said out loud. "No, that's… that's _behind _me. I'm _fine. _It's _all _in the past… I'm fine."

"Uncle Qrow?" The older huntsman turned to see his energetic niece coming up from behind. "What's going on?"

Qrow looked down at the envelope then back at Ruby. "Hey, Rubes? Do you like _mysteries?"_

"_Do _I?!" Ruby pumped her fists, enthusiastically. "I'll go get the others and have 'em leave Holly with Auntie Raven until we get back!"

"What? Raven's here?" Qrow sounded, surprised.

"Yeah! She's _really _been helping out." Ruby's bright smile disappeared as she saw the wrathful expression grow over her uncle's face, jumping back as he angrily threw the folder to the ground.

"I told that _FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT _never to go near my family again!" Qrow drew his weapon and rushed out of the building. "You're a _dead woman, _Rae!"

"Oh, dear!" Ruby muttered to herself, chasing after the deranged huntsman.

Back outside, Raven had offered to help Team JNPR with their melee combat training. After having easily swept the floor with Ren and Nora, she eyed the remaining two members and yawned with little interest. "Who's next?"

Jaune gulped, held up his sword and shield, and stepped forward. "Bring it!" In response, Raven stamped on his foot, grabbed his shield, and proceeded to bash it into his face five times before letting up. "... she brought it…" He whimpered before collapsing.

"This is getting _boring." _Raven yawned again. "Nothing _exciting _ever happens here."

"You mean _besides _what we _literally _went through just a few weeks ago?" Weiss spluttered as she led what was left of her team over to the training grounds.

"Watch your tongue, princess." Raven snapped. "I'm not too old to teach _you _a lesson."

"RAVEN?! RAVEN, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"That voice… _no…" _Raven gasped as she saw her twin running up to them. Grabbing the hilt of her sword, she was ready to fight as Qrow stopped just a few feet in front of her. "Well, well. Long time, no _see." _She sneered.

"I told you what would happen if you ever came near Yang or Ruby!" Qrow snapped back.

"What is going on?" Penny asked in astonishment, just now noticing how similar Qrow and Raven looked. "What am I _looking _at?"

At last, Ruby caught up. Even with her semblance, her uncle had been hard to keep up with. "Oh, man… uh, I can _sorta _explain." Ruby gasped for breath. "Uncle Qrow got a little upset when I mentioned Auntie Raven was here. Apparently, they don't get along very well."

"We _used _to." Qrow explained. "We used to be _inseparable! _Until Raven _killed _my girlfriend, Carla!"

"You _what?! _Why would you-?!" Yang cut herself off as she remembered. "Oh, right. Possessed by Paulette. Attacked you out of unbridled rage. Already over that. _Continue."_

"I already _explained _all of this to you, Qrow!"

"I'm still _pissed! _I could've talked her _down!"_

"Oh, what?! Were you gonna try to _seduce _her?! Your face looks like it was kicked in by a _mule!" _Raven snapped.

"Oh, yeah?! Your whole _body _looks like it was kicked in by a mule!" Qrow retorted.

"You're so ugly, you look _better _on your driver's license!"

_"You're _so ugly that every time you look out the window, you get arrested for _public indecency!"_

"Aaaaaaand, you both look like genderbent versions of each other that someone drew on DeviantArt." Yang said, flatly.

"So what're you even _doing _here?!" Qrow went on. "Trying to teach Yang how to _properly _abandon her child?!"

"Well, at least I don't make my kids think it's okay to constantly suffer from _alcoholism!"_

"No, you just let my _Dad _become _you!"_ Yang yelled out, finally having enough of his argument.

"Wait, what?!" Qrow blinked, Raven similarly shocked.

"You didn't know, did you?" Yang whispered. "About how even after you knocked him back to his senses rescuing me after looking for my Mom that Taiyang took another year or so to stop drinking and _actually_ start taking his medicine again. How Ruby started calling me 'Mom' for a couple of years because _I_ was the only family member that actually stook around."

Raven had to hold back a wince at this subtle jab, while also filing away that bit about Tai for later. "Yang, I…"

"It's alright, Mom," Yang declared with a smile. "You already explained your reasoning, and you're _trying_ to make up for past mistakes. Besides, Ruby seems to trust you, and I'd like to think she's a pretty good judge of character."

"Wait, 'Mom'?!" Qrow yelled out. "But she…"

"Like I told _her,"_ Yang pointed out, "Summer will always have a place in my heart, but there's no rule that says I can't have two Moms."

"Yang she…" Qrow couldn't believe what he was hearing. "She's a Bandit…"

"So were you," his niece declared, shutting him up, "and you don't see _me_ holding that against _you._ Actually, that reminds me: Mom, when did you say Vernal was going to show up again?"

"She needs to get a few things taken care of on her end, but she should be ready to arrive in a day or two." Raven declared, happy that her daughter and adoptive daughter were going to start bonding.

"Okay, Uncle Qrow, let's just _go, _okay?" Ruby begged.

"... fine." Qrow sheathed Harbinger and silently walked away. Against her better judgment, Blake volunteered to sacrifice family time with Holly and Yang to make sure Qrow didn't accidentally kill Ruby by following them on their quest. Weiss agreed to come along as well, and Ruby begged Qrow to let Penny come with them. Surprisingly, he agreed without any difficulty, but still insisted that they discuss it with her own teacher. Luckily, Amarilla and the rest of Team CPPR happened to be close by.

"Uh, excuse me? Are _you _Amarilla Arc?"

"Ooh, great! My mail-order male prostitute!" Amarilla cheered. "First of all; my safe-word is 'mom and dad.'"

"N-no, that's not - wait, what?" Qrow shook his head in confusion. "Uh, well… ahem. Is it okay if Team CPPR accompanies us for a while? It's for official business."

"'Official business?'" Amarilla suddenly looked worried. "Wait? Are you a _cop? _Yo, you _legally _have to tell me if you're a cop! It's like, the _law!"_

"Uh, first of all; _no, _I'm _not _a cop." Qrow quirked an eyebrow. "And _second; _that's not a real law."

"Hmm, sounds like something a cop would say." Amarilla said, suspiciously.

"Ugh, _whatever. _Look, can they come with us, or not?"

"Eh, sure. Less work for me." Amarilla shrugged. "And more time to embarrass Jaune."

"Great. Thanks a lot." Qrow motioned for the kids to follow him. "Have fun with your _raging insanity."_

"Yeah?! Have fun being a _cop, COP!" _Amarilla yelled back.

A few hours later, Qrow was flying through the air with Teams RWBY and CPPR inside a new Manta. Following the trail Summer's own Manta had left behind, it was only a matter of time before they found her. But much to their horror, they soon found that her ship had crashed on a deserted island. Once they landed, Ruby took the lead and rushed to the damaged ship.

"Mom?!" She called out, desperately. "Pamela?! Sheila?!"

"Ruby? Is that you?" Sheila's broken voice stammered. "I'm scared, Ruby. Will I dream? Daaaaisy… Daaaaaaisyyyyyy…." And with that, the simpler A.I. was no more.

"SHEEEEEEEEILAAAAAAAH! NOOOOOOOO!" Ruby cried.

"What?! No! No! Sheila!" Qrow had just caught up along with everyone else when he heard his niece cry out. "Wait… who's Sheila?"

"Sheila was the lady in the _tank _that we put inside the _Manta." _Ruby sobbed. "She was my _friend."_

"Oh, Ruby…" Weiss knelt down to cradle her girlfriend, touched at how much she cared for the A.I. "There, there… Sheila's in a _better place."_

Ruby sniffed. "But… I didn't even get to say _goodbye!"_

"Fret not, dear Ruby." Penny replied. "Although Sheila's passing _is _heartbreaking, I can sense that _Pamela _has survived!"

"R-really?" Ruby wiped the tears from her eyes, feeling slightly better.

"Alright then, _I'll_ take it from here." Qrow offered as he approached the ship. "Manta override code: Agent Gray, of-"

"Hey! Don't talk to her like that!" Ruby snapped, jumping to her feet in anger. "She is _not _a machine!"

Startled by her sudden outburst, Weiss pushed Penny and Blake behind her. "Uh, we're going to stand behind Ruby. For _safety."_

"Uh… okay." Qrow looked back at his niece - who still held an offended glare - and politely asked for her help. "Well, Ruby, we _need _to get inside the ship so we can find out what happened. So can you ask it-" Qrow paused as he saw the trio of girls take another step away from Ruby. "- uh, ask _her _to disable the lockdown protocol and replay the surveillance footage?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," Ruby said with a shrug before walking up to Luna/Pamela. "Hey, sis: could you maybe help us out for old times sake?"

Here, Luna/Pamela had to blink. "Ruby? Is that you?! Is Penny with you?! I'm assuming she's the one who told you about the bond we formed and that's why you're referring to me as 'sis'."

Ruby snorted. "You'd be right on all accounts: a sister of Penny is a sister of mine. Sorry we couldn't get to you sooner."

"I'm just glad you came, period," Luna/Pamela said with a relieved sigh. "Jacques has done his best to make sure I couldn't contact you guys."

"Of _course_ he's involved," Weiss groaned. "At this point, I'd be more surprised if he _wasn't_ neck deep in everything we've had to go through."

"Anyway, uh… could you please open the door so we can get inside?" Ruby asked.

"Of course." The door of the Manta slowly creaked open, revealing the injured body of Summer Rose.

"Oh, my gods! Mom!" Ruby cried, taking her mother into her arms. "What _happened?!"_

As if to answer her question, a screen flickered on to reveal a familiar business man. "Well, well, well…" Jacques chuckled. "If it isn't my _traitorous daughter."_

"What do you want, Jackass?" Weiss demanded.

"Is that any way to speak to your father?" Jacques demanded over the hijacked Atlesian Knight's intercom.

"You're many things, Jacques, but my father?" Weiss growled. "You lost _that_ right a _long_ time ago."

"A pity." Jacques declared, almost sounding remorseful. _Almost._ "As for your question, it's quite simple. If _I_ can't have Agent Rose, _no one_ can." That was all the warning they got before a bullet ripped straight through Summer's chest. "Such a waste. I'll have to try again at some point."

"You...you _bastard!"_ Weiss yelled out, quickly destroying the knight.

"Nice work," Jacques teased over the failing intercom. "A shame that was not really me."

"Agreed," a dying Summer declared. "Otherwise, I'd be doing _this_ to your _head." _That was all the warning they got before she used her sidearm to destroy the intercom.

"I will _never_ be yours, Jackass. _NEVER,"_ she gasped out, before turning towards her daughters, a remorse filled look in her eyes. "I'm sorry about this: I hoped we'd have more time together."

"Mom, please," Ruby begged, pulling Summer into a hug. "Don't go."

"My Little Rose," Summer declared with a mournful grin as she lifted a hand to gently stroke her daughter's back. "Never forget: your mother _always_ loved you." With that, she breathed her last, her hand falling to the ground as she did.

"No, please, not again…" Ruby sobbed as she held her mother close.

"Ruby, _listen _to me." Qrow knelt down to his niece as Weiss, Blake, and Penny looked away, sadly. "No matter what you think, this _isn't _your fault."

"Wasn't it, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby whimpered, shakily. "She was my _mother. I _was her _daughter. _I should've done _something _to keep her from going back to Jacques Schnee. Maybe she would've listened to me if I asked her to stay. Or maybe I could've gone _with _her - could've _helped _her. Or maybe… maybe she was just _unlucky _to have run into me, again."

"I know a _lot _about _bad luck, _Ruby. And it has _nothing_ to do with _you."_ Qrow replied. But Ruby just continued to bury her face into Summer's shoulder. "I _also _know a lot about _dead bodies. _And that _isn't _one."

What happened next, none of the young girls expected. Qrow threaded his fingers through Summer's hair, gripped it tight, and with a hard tug, he tore his former teammate's head from her neck. But instead of blood, some kind of viscous lubricant splashed onto the ground. Wires hung down from Summer's severed head, similar to the ones protruding from her neck. Ruby and her friends gasped in shock at the revelation. "She's a _sophisticated android, _like _Penny." _Qrow explained. "Ever since you first reunited at Beacon. Jacques _did _replicate Summer's brain patterns, but it wasn't used to make _Penny. _It was all part of his _twisted desire _to obtain the _'perfect' _wife. I'm _sorry, _Ruby… but you mother really _is _dead."

"But that… how?!" Ruby demanded. "She knew so much about us!"

Qrow could only give a helpless shrug. "I suppose that's because Jacques did _too good a job_ at recreating her. In a very real sense, she _was_ your mother, if for no other reason then because that's who she _wanted_ to be."

"She succeeded." Penny remarked, drawing her sister into an embrace, sharing their grief before giving a growl. "If I _ever_ see Jacques Schnee…"

"Get in line." Qrow declared with an angry scoff, the others thinking the same thing. "For now, lets get Pamela out of here and-"

An explosion suddenly destroyed the Manta. Once the ringing in her ears died down and her vision cleared, Ruby spotted a blurred figure in dark red armor seemingly absorbing Pamela into her mind. The figure turned to look back at her before walking in her direction. Ruby struggled to stand up, but her aura was drained from shielding her from the blast. Suddenly, a Grimm's claws propped her chin up as a fiery yellow eye gazed into her own. The last thing she heard before passing out was a low, menacing growl.

**To Be Continued**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"Ruby?" Weiss' voice echoed. "Ruby, can you hear me?"

"Ugh… Weiss?"

"Ah, you're awake. Good: we have much to discuss."

Ruby turned towards the new voice only to gasp. "Cinder!?" In an instance, she tried to surge towards her old nemesis...only to freeze as she felt some chains on her wrists.

"Aura-resistant shackles," declared a voice that somehow came from Cinder and yet sounded nothing like her. "You won't be going _anywhere."_

Ruby growled as she tried to bring her Silver Eyes to the surface, only to freeze as Cinder conjured up a sword that she held underneath Blake's chin, having already restrained the hood huntress' companions as well. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you," the unfamiliar voice declared. "You wouldn't want to risk your friends getting hurt, would you?"

"You certainly _look_ and _act_ like Cinder, but you don't _sound_ like her," Ruby remarked.

"Ah, yes, where _have_ my manners gone?" the unfamiliar voice said with an arrogant chuckle as an orange hologram appeared on Cinder's shoulder. "Allow me to introduce myself: you may call me Priscilla."

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "So, _you're_ the one that had been harassing Luna."

Priscilla shrugged. "I'll admit that I hadn't always been the nicest to dear, sweet Pamela, but I've sense made up with her. Isn't that right, Pamela?"

"That is correct," Luna/Pamela remarked as she appeared beside the malicious A.I., her eyes glazed over and her monotone somehow seeming more, for lack of a better term, _robotic_ than ever. "I have no qualms standing by my sister."

"You don't mean that," Weiss declared. "We've long established that you're _more_ than just a computer program, Luna. _I_ know that you're not just a _liar."_

"She's right," Ruby said with a nod. "You're stronger than this. Stronger than _her._ Fight whatever it is she's done to you!"

Here, Luna/Pamela grunted, momentarily losing her monotone and her eyes clearing as she did. "W...Weiss? Ruby? Wha…?" Unfortunately, her brief moment of defiance/clarity was swiftly taken away from her as a current surged through her, her eyes clouding over soon after it stopped.

Priscilla gave a bitter chuckle. "I'm impressed: though brief, that was the first time my influence has been undone. It's no wonder Agent Crimson considers you a threat."

"Is she another of your slaves?" Blake couldn't help but ask.

"Hardly," Priscilla declared, Cinder's insulted look only serving to further prove that statement. "I barely had to do anything for our partnership to be formed. She's always wanted power: I merely gave her the tools to obtain it."

"Well, slave or no, don't think I'll just let you kill me and my friends." Ruby declared.

"Kill you?" Priscilla asked, soon joining Cinder in a brief chuckle. "Oh, nononono. We've learned from our last encounter, Ruby Rose. I don't want to _kill_ you. I want you _unmade._ For you to see just how pointless this pursuit of heroism of yours is. For you to see just how _weak_ you truly are."

With this, Cinder went to exit the room. "I've achieved what I've come here to do. I am well on my way to my ultimate goal, and thus have no reason to keep you here. I have already sent out a distress signal, so your precious academy is no doubt on its way to pick you up, but make no mistake, Ruby Rose. You _will_ face your ultimate despair." Priscilla declared. "When all your friends and loved ones are reduced to ashes. When you have nothing left to fight for. When all hope has left your eyes… only then will I grant you permission to die."

"Then how come you haven't killed us?" Weiss demanded. "If your goal is to utterly destroy my girlfriend inside and out, why haven't you killed me, Blake, Penny, and Qrow?"

"Simple: your sister saved our lives a couple times." Priscilla directed at Weiss. "This is simply me repaying that debt...but make no mistake: attempt to get in my way and I _will_ cut you down and force your girlfriend to watch." And with that, Cinder was gone.

Qrow's shackles suddenly broke away, thanks to his semblance. "Son of a _bitch!" _He cursed himself for letting the enemy get away before freeing the others. That was when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye; a familiar crocodile faunus in yellow armor running away. "TOCK!" He shouted, handing Ruby a dust grenade before opening fire. "Ruby! Take her out! She's the enemy!"

"B-but I don't know how to-"

"Ruby, just pull the pin, and _throw _it!" Qrow demanded. Much to his disappointment, his niece closed her eyes and threw the grenade against a nearby rock, lodging it in place. He rubbed a hand over his face before turning to face her. "That was the _worst throw ever. _Of _all _time."

"Well, _excuse me!" _Ruby snapped. "But none of my teachers taught me how to _throw _properly!"

"FORGET IT! RUN!" Weiss shrieked in horror, dragging Ruby and Penny away from the grenade just before it went off.

Tock looked over her shoulder as she ran, amused by her former teammate's misfortune. "Ha ha! Suck it, Gray-!" Only to be blindsided by a hammer to the face, followed by a sickle slashing her leg wide open. Agent Yellow stumbled down the steep slope, unable to move.

Rachael proudly knocked her weapons together as she rejoined the group. _"That's _how we do it in Mother Rushland."

"Ow, you little _bitch!" _Tock snarled.

"You, Ms. Purple, patch her up." Qrow ordered. "But just enough to keep her from _running."_

"Well, I doubt she'll be _running _for a while after what Rachael just did." Jean replied. "Rachael is _very _strong."

"So, Yellow, what brings _you _all the way out here?" Qrow asked, aiming his scythe at her neck. "And _don't bother _trying to lie."

Suddenly, a small, holographic girl appeared on Tock's shoulder. "Perhaps _I _can shed some light on the subject, Agent Gray."

"Pearl?!" Qrow put away his weapon and crouched down. "What're _you _doing here? I mean, don't get me _wrong; _I'm _glad _to see you're okay, but-"

"Why am I with Agent Yellow?" Pearl finished, resting her arms behind her back. "Believe me, it was _not _my choice."

"Alright, well why are you _here?" _Qrow followed up.

"I am afraid that Agent Yellow was _stalking _you. She believed that if she followed you, you would lead her to any other members of Project Guardsman who possessed my sisters." Pearl explained. "But by the time she tracked you to Beacon, the Meta was close behind and soon engaged Agent Purple… and sadly, _terminated _her."

"Wait… you mean, Ms. Goodwitch is… _dead?" _Ruby asked, sadly.

"I am afraid so." Pearl nodded. "Tock's intention was to steal Phoebe, herself. She engaged Agent Purple, but once the Meta arrived, Tock left her in a position to be killed."

"_MOM?!" Phoebe cried, holding Glynda's bloody hand in her own. "Mom, please get up!"_

"_Shh... there, there, sister." Priscilla soothed as her host began absorbing the helpless A.I. into her. "We just want to keep you _safe. _Agent Purple can't protect you like _we _can."_

"_Join us, Phoebe." Pamela chimed in, back to her dark monotone voice. "Cinder is _strong, _but together, we can _all _be stronger."_

"_No! Mom, please!" Phoebe continued to cry, even as she felt what was left of her consciousness slip out of her artificial body into Cinder's mind._

_As for Glynda; the dying headmistress could barely even lift her own head. Her aura was completely drained and Ozpin was nowhere to be found. All she could do was watch, helplessly, as her daughter finally succumbed to Cinder's abduction. With that, her former teammate hoisted Glynda into the air by her neck, growling angrily. Realizing that resistance was futile, Glynda used the last of her strength to address her killer._

"_Crimson…?" She managed to choke out. "Just… please be _gentle _with her. She _frightens _easily…"_

_Cinder had to pause, shocked at what her former comrade's soon-to-be last words had been. She then nodded, however: A.I. or no, Phoebe had been the closest Agent Purple had to a daughter of her own, and it was only natural for a mother to be concerned about the safety of her child. Feeling a rare spur of compassion, she gave her fellow Guardsman a small smile, seeming to silently promise to treat her daughter if she was her own...before snapping Glynda's neck, ignoring the anguished cry of Phoebe deep inside her mind._

"After that, I figured _one A.I. _was good enough after all." Tock concluded for Pearl. "Glynda had it _coming."_

"You killed a _good woman, _you heartless bitch!" Rachael screamed in anger, kicking Tock's wounded leg.

"Say what you will about me, but I _earned_ the A.I. I got." Tock arrogantly proclaimed. "Not like Goody-Glynda or Maniac-Maria."

"You… you killed Maria?!" Qrow gasped out.

"It was the only way I could obtain her A.I. Though if it's any consolation, she put up a good fight." Tock mockingly remarked. "Nearly took me out in spite of my shattering her Aura and taking her other eye… but then, that's to be expected of the infamous 'Grimm Reaper', now isn't it?" Tock mockingly asked before crying out in pain as Qrow stomped on her leg. "Watch it, Grey!"

"Just be glad White's not here," Qrow declared with a growl. _"She'd_ be tearing your leg _off!"_

"If I may interrupt, Agent Grey." Pearl remarked. "There's something that I'd like to add to the conversation."

"Nice timing with the healing unit, Pearl!" Tock declared, only to frown when her wounds didn't heal. Her distress only grew as Pearl jumped onto Qrow's shoulder. "W-what are you _doing?!"_

"Unlike _you, I_ have a sense of self-preservation." Pearl declared, before turning to Qrow. "I have already accessed the files you're carrying and have concluded that I've indeed made the right call: my assistance would be most fortuitous to your endeavor."

"Uh, yeah, I suppose that having your help wouldn't hurt." Qrow said with a shrug.

"That said, logically speaking, it'd be ill-advised to allow the Meta the chance to interrogate my _former_ partner."

"What're you _suggesting, _Pearl?" Qrow asked.

"... that we do not allow her to hinder us any further."

"I _agree." _Qrow replied, darkly.

"What're you gonna do, Gray? Shoot me-?" Tock was cut off by a sudden shot to the head from Harbinger. The others flinched in shock at the sight, but Qrow hadn't even blinked.

Ruby shook her head. "Uncle Qrow, you didn't have to…"

"Didn't have to _what?!"_ Qrow demanded. "This isn't one of those fairy tales Tai or Summer would read to you as a kid: this is a _war,_ and I am _not_ letting them win."

"...who are you?" Ruby asked, causing the male Branwen twin to flinch, nearly doing so again upon noticing the tears in her niece's eyes. "The Uncle Qrow I know wouldn't belittle my parents like that. He wouldn't kill a potential source of information in cold blood. He wouldn't use 'this is a war' as an excuse: he _hated_ Atlas' policy of combining the Huntsman Academy with the military. You're _clearly_ not my Uncle, so _who are you?!"_

"I apologize." Pearl declared, seeming to wilt on herself. "Being with Agent Yellow...I'd forgotten what _compassion_ looks like. You actually remind me a bit of Agent Silver, Ruby Rose. She would have also objected to my logical standpoint, right, Agent Grey?"

"I…" Qrow shook his head before giving a sigh. "You're right, Ruby: I haven't been myself lately. I can't tell you everything, not yet, but I went through a rough patch while I was away. It left me with some scars, both mentally and physically...but I'm okay now. You can trust me. That said, you had a point there: I'm out here as a Huntsman, so I need to start acting like it."

"You'd better," Weiss demanded as she and Penny both held the hooded huntress close. "Because if you make Ruby cry again, I'll be giving _you_ something to cry about, am I clear?!"

"... crystal." Qrow said with a frightened nod, before giving a bitter chuckle as he watched them walk off into the distance. "She is _definitely_ Winter's sister."

"Yeah, no offense, dude, but she's not _nearly _as cold as _you _were, just now." Penny chimed in. "Killing in cold blood like that."

"Well, like I said; from now on I won't do anything _unless _it's out of necessity." Qrow promised as he loaded a cartridge of fire dust into Harbinger. "Now, come help me dispose of this dead body."

Penny nervously backed away from the grizzled huntsman and hurriedly walked towards her best friend. "Your uncle's kind of _intense."_

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure he's just under a lot of _pressure." _Ruby shrugged as Qrow set fire to Tock's corpse before blowing it up with several grenades. "... _lots and lots _of pressure."

Meanwhile, in Anima, Raven had teleported her, Yang, and Holly to the bandit's den. Holly's latest growth spurt made her look exactly thirteen years old. Her mother had asked her to wait inside the tent for a few minutes, saying that she needed to discuss something important with her. At last, the blonde brawler reentered the tent with beads of sweat running down her forehead. Holly was deeply concerned.

"Mom, are you _okay?"_

"She's _fine." _Raven replied, following her daughter along with Vernal. "She's just a _dumbass."_

"I can do this… it's no problem." Yang told herself before sitting next to her daughter. "Okay, _listen, _Holly… as you know, you've grown up a lot _faster _than we were expecting, and now you've reached a certain age where every young girl goes through some _changes. _You see, the gods are _cruel, _and they made it so that every month, your body is gonna go through what I like to call _'maintenance.' _And during this time, you'll get really _sad _for no reason, or _angry _for no reason, and you start _hurting _for no reason."

"Sounds _scary." _Holly gulped.

"Yeah. _But _there's also a bit of _pleasure _to these changes." Yang smiled. "That's where we get into the _birds and the bees. _Except the bees aren't very _appealing _most of the time, seeing as how most of them like to just _go around _sticking their _stinger _into anything they choose. And _then, _the rotten bastards don't even pay _child support-!"_

"Okay, I think you're getting a little too _heated, _Yang." Raven stepped in. "Maybe _I _should give Holly _'the talk.'"_

"You?" Yang snorted. "Mom, I know we've been making some _strides _in repairing our relationship, but what do _you _know about giving _'the talk' _to someone you care about?"

Raven felt indignant. "I'll have you know that _I _was the one who informed young Vernal here about the subject when _her own _time came. And given that she's maintained a fairly _healthy _sex life, I'd say I did a pretty good job."

"You did, indeed, Raven!" Vernal smiled. "I don't know _where _I'd be today without you!"

"Oh, kiss my ass some _other _time." Raven muttered, slightly annoyed.

"Okay, forget _that!" _Yang concluded. "We'll just do what we _should've _done from the beginning! We're going to your step-mom's _private collection!"_

"Who?" Holly asked.

"Oh, sorry. Your _dad's _private collection."

"Oh, _cool!"_

Back at the Manta's crash site, Penny and Ruby had taken to talking to their new A.I. friend. "Hey, Pearl? Can I ask you something?" Ruby asked.

"Of course, Ms. Rose." Pearl nodded.

"Well, Jean said that _Agent Yellow _must have cut her _control chip _out of her neck so that she could escape from Project Guardsman. And she didn't have any _other _electronic device implanted inside of her. So how come _you _could bond with her?"

"I'm sorry, Ruby, I don't quite understand the question. Why would I need an electronic device to-" Pearl cut herself off before continuing. "Oh… well, she must have obtained some sort of unique _device _that kept me in line for her to exploit my talents."

"Makes as much sense as everything else we've run across." Penny said with a shrug.

"I don't know," Ruby declared. "Something doesn't feel quite right about it...but we've got other problems to deal with, such as how I'm going to tell Yang about what happened to…"

Penny simply embraced Ruby even as she started tearing up again. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I truly am."

"You want to know the worst part?" Ruby asked.

"That you didn't get to say goodbye? To her or to your… _our real_ mother?" Penny inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Because she's already made it clear how much she _hated_ that word."

"Well, yes, _that,_" Ruby nodded, "but that's not what I meant. You heard Weiss' douche dad: 'I'll have to try again at some point.' Uncle Qrow was wrong earlier: Summer's not _dead:_ not _yet,_ at least."

"...you think he has the _real_ Summer Rose trapped somewhere," Penny declared, eyes widening as she too considers the possibility.

Ruby could only give a grim nod. "Even if I'm wrong, he's clearly not satisfied with letting his twisted experiment end here. At some point, we're going to have to take the fight to _him."_

"Just so you know, I'll be right there beside you when that time comes," Penny said with a nod.

Ruby gave a melancholy smile to this. "I know. First things first, though: I'm… _we're_ going to have to let Yang know that Summer Rose never escaped her imprisonment."

Here, Penny couldn't help but wince. "Yeah. _That's_ not going to be any fun."

Meanwhile, back in Anima, Yang froze in place, something to which Vernal took notice. "Uh, Yang? Everything okay?" she couldn't help but ask.

"I...I'm not sure," the blonde brawler declared. "I just got the strangest feeling that something happened to Summer."

"Right." Vernal said with a nod. "Your mother. Well, your other mother. Or, well…"

Here, Yang couldn't help but give a bitter chuckle. "It's alright. I know what you meant."

Vernal sighed. "I never met her, personally, but I heard a _lot_ about her from Raven. If she's _anything_ like how she described her, I know two things about her. First, she always cared about those she considered family, and would continue to do so even to her dying breath. And secondly, she didn't deserve _any_ of the pain that this 'Jacques Schnee' put her through."

"No, she never did," Yang said with an angry nod. "Good thing Weiss has already disowned the guy, because the next time I see the guy…" Yang extended her blade with a growl. "...I'm putting _this_ right where the sun doesn't shine."

"Spoken like a true dragon, sis."

Yang blinked. "Sis?"

Vernal gave a chuckle and a shrug. "Why not? We might have come from different nests, but Raven _still_ raised us both...and to be honest, a part of me has always wanted to meet you. The way she talked about you, I just knew you'd make a good Bandit."

"I don't know about _that,"_ Yang said with a blush. "But yeah: you're not so bad yourself, Vernal."

"Glad to see you're bonding," Raven declared as she approached the duo, having just gotten off her scroll, an unreadable expression on her face. "But it's time we head back to Beacon."

"Did something happen?"

"Oh, something _happened,_ alright," Raven said with a glare. "Either Qrow is trying to mess with me or Jacques was an even bigger asshole then we already knew, and honestly, I'm not sure which possibility infuriates me more."

"I'm coming with you, then," Vernal declared in a tone that would accept no arguments. "You Huntsmen and Huntresses are good, but something tells me that you might need a _Bandit's touch_ for _this one."_

"Welcome aboard, Aunt Vernal," Holly declared, having apparently overheard their earlier conversation.

"Yeah, you'll get no complaints from me," Yang said with a nod even as they all prepared to head back with them to Vale. "Something tells me we're going to need all the help we can get."

**To be continued**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

While Qrow went ahead with preparing the Manta for their next trip, Ruby and Penny went off to the side to converse with their newest A.I. companion. Once they were certain that Qrow couldn't hear them, the two friends shared a nod of agreement before turning to their new companion. "Pearl? Do you mind if Ruby and I ask you a few questions about this _'Project Guardsman?'"_

Pearl nodded. "Of course. I shall endeavor to answer them to the best of my abilities."

Ruby smiled. "I don't know what it is exactly, but I can already tell that you're best is _more_ than enough." She cleared her throat before continuing. "Anyways, you mind telling us why Uncle Qrow is so hesitant to talk to us about this mission?"

Pearl mused, thoughtfully, for a moment. "I believe that Agent Grey is uncomfortable discussing our program in _any _fashion. He was one of the many 'failures' during the implantation process."

Penny blinked "Wait, _one _of the failures? How many _were _there?

Pearl shook her head in disgust. _"Several._ Though I do not know the _exact reason,_ Jacques insisted on escalating the number of experiments as time went on. In fact, Tock - Agent Yellow - was part of another experiment that he classified as a 'failure.'"

Ruby shared a confused look with Penny "Wait, what? But she didn't even seem to _have_ an A.I. unit…"

Pearl gave a bitter chuckle at that remark. "She did _not._ In point of fact, the experiment in question was shared between her and _Glynda Goodwitch,_ Agent Purple. Jacques wanted to see what would happen if one agent received an A.I. unit and another did not."

This time, Penny was the one to shake her head in disgust. "I guess we _all _saw how that turned out… back when she had her former partner killed."

Pearl nodded, grimly. "Forcing Glynda into a position where she was sure to die is just like Tock. She never _did_ like to work in a completely direct manner. Still, they didn't _all_ have unhappy endings. At least, not _initially." _The logical A.I. gave a sad grin. "For example, Agent White - Ms. Winter Schnee - was implanted with two A.I. fragments at once."

Ruby's eyes widened in awe. "Wait, Winter? Weiss' sister? She had _two_ A.I.s in her head?! How did she even handle having three minds in her head at once?!"

"She _didn't_… at least, not at _first._ She would only be able to function for short periods of time, and not _very well_ at that." A mild look of admiration adorned Pearl's face. "...but eventually, she was able to get the situation to work for her. Through a combination of treating them like _teammates_ instead of_ tools,_ and a healthy amount of _sheer willpower_, she was eventually able to surpass all but one of the other Agents. And that one Agent was a unique case _in_ and _of_ herself."

Penny blinked. "Wait, back up a bit. You said that Winter had trouble working with more than one A.I. fragment before she started treating them both with respect? Ruby mentioned having run into _Cinder_ before, and that she didn't seem the type to respect _anyone."_ She looked over at Ruby as she went on. "Could that explain why she's the way she is_ now,_ even _partially?"_

Pearl mused for a moment, considering her words. "Perhaps. Now that I think about it, Agent Crimson's power symptoms could be a small indication of what must be going on inside her head."

Ruby sighed. "I actually pity her. She finally has the power she sought after, but she's no longer able to properly enjoy it."

Pearl smiled at the girl's empathy. "You truly _are_ a simple soul, Ruby Rose…" Suddenly, she noticed Qrow walking over to their little group. "...but we can worry about all that later. Agent Gray is ready to pursue the Meta."

With that, Pearl retreated back into Ruby's mind. "Okay, kiddos, ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah, Uncle Qrow." Ruby replied. "I'm just gonna keep Pearl in my head for safe keeping."

"That's fine with me." Qrow shrugged. "Let's just get going. We need to figure out how Summer was planning to take down Jacques Schnee and _fast."_

Meanwhile, none of the huntresses noticed that Cinder hadn't truly left after all. "That's _right, _Agent Gray…" Priscilla cackled within Cinder's mind. "Keep it up. You'll find what you're looking for _soon enough. _But just to make sure you _do…"_

Cinder reached for her scroll; she had recorded everything the group had said. With Pamela's help, she scrambled the words to make it sound as if Ruby was in distress. Then she called Pyrrha.

"Hello? Ruby? Is that you?"

"Pyrrha! Help! Uncle Qrow's gone crazy!"

"Oh, my gods! What happened?!"

"Need help! Please, find us!"

"We're on our way! Just hold out until then!"

Priscilla gave an arrogant chuckle as Cinder hung up. "That's right. Come to help your precious friends. 'Come into my parlor' said the spider to the fly."

Meanwhile, Yang, Raven, Holly, and Vernal had successfully made it back to Beacon...just in time to see everyone gearing up for what looked to be all-out warfare. "Whoa, where's the fire, guys?" Yang couldn't help but ask.

"Yang!" Nora yelled out. "Thank goodness you're back! Remember how Glynda said that Qrow had a few issues back with Project Guardsman? We think he's had a relapse or something!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Raven declared. "Let's head out and…"

_"We?"_ Taiyang growled out. "Oh, no. I might have enjoyed that night we shared with Summer, but don't think that means I've automatically forgiven you for just leaving me high and dry the way you did!"

"Why are you still…?" Raven just cut herself off with a groan. "Oh, who am I kidding? I can't even say I'd never put my family in direct danger, as once upon a time, that's exactly what I would have done if it meant achieving my goals."

"Once upon a time, sure, but not now," Vernal declared, drawing her foster mother into a hug. "I know in my heart that if you had to choose between me - the tribe - and the mission, you'd choose the former. Every. Time."

"Well said, my sister from another mister," Yang remarked as she and Holly also embraced the older woman. "You're not a murderer. You're a Chieftess. A Maiden. A Huntress. A mother. _My_ mother."

Velvet couldn't help but blow her nose as tears flowed from her eyes. "Does that look like a woman who doesn't care about anyone but herself?" She couldn't help but direct at Taiyang as Raven returned the hug, genuine joy and relief clearly plastered on her face.

"I… _suppose_ I might have jumped the gun a bit," the brawler of Team STRQ replied, "but this doesn't mean I'm going to go back to trusting her just like _that."_ He snapped his fingers to further cement his point.

"We're not _asking_ you to _trust_ her," Jaune declared. "Just let her _fight alongside_ us. We're going to need all the help we can get for this one."

"Good attitude, kid," Vernal said with a nod. "Though maybe it's just the Bandit in me, but this feels like a trap. Don't get me wrong: if Raven's stories about her are to be believed, she's _worth_ walking into a trap if it means the possibility of saving her, but maybe we ought to do some reconnaissance first."

Nora gave an excited grin. "You mean like _spy stuff!?_ That would be cool! I could wear a _spy tuxedo…"_

Ren could only give a deadpan glare. "No."

"...with a _hidden spy camera…"_

Raven frowned. "No."

"...inside a _tiny spy bow-tie."_

Fox groaned. "No."

"Or, I could wear a _flower_ on my _lapel…"_

Yatsuhashi glared. "We said no!"

"...that sprays _water_ in people's faces."

Jaune shook his head. "That's enough Nora."

Nora gasped. "No, a _secret spy liquid._ That would be awesome!"

Ren, Raven, Yang, Vernal, and Velvet all gave a collective "NO!"

Pyrrha hummed to herself. "Actually, that _does_ sound kind of cool." She then shook her head. "Wait, I'm sorry. I mean, NO!"

Nora whined "Oh, come on! I could be _Double 0 Nora!"_ She blinked. "Err, wait, would that just be _Noora,_ then?"

Ren just sighed and gestured to Nora even as she continued to ramble on about being a spy. "I'll stick close to her and see if I can't contain her latest fantasy. You guys see about gathering some intel, deal?" Everyone else nodded as they prepared for the coming mission.

Cinder was practically giggling as she watched Qrow enter the room across from his Silver-Eyed Niece. After cloaking herself, she used some of Priscilla's assistance to help broadcast a copy of her voice across the room. "You know, I can't _wait_ to see the look on your face when I kill your uncle right in front of you." Her voice seemingly declared from right next to Ruby and Penny.

"Keep waiting, you bitch!" Qrow angrily declared as he blindly shot in the direction he heard the voice...only for his heart to practically freeze in his chest as Cinder uncloaked right next to him. "Wait, what? If...if you're _here,_ then who did I…?"

"Ruby!" Penny yelled out as he cradled the hooded huntress - who had been knocked out by the blast from her Uncle's weapon - in her arms, before giving the male Branwen a glare. "How could you?! We trusted you!"

"And on that note…" Priscilla declared as Cinder punched a button on a remote she was carrying, activating two shock traps that knocked both Penny and Qrow out. "...it's time we got what we came for."

Penny let out a groan as she took in her surroundings. "Is this...Ruby's mindscape? How'd I end up _here?"_

"I brought you here, that's how."

Penny blinked as she took in the figure that stood next to Mental-Ruby. "Pearl?!"

Mental-Ruby nodded. "Yes, this is my friend, Pearl."

Here, Pearl couldn't help but give a smile. "Salutations, Penny."

"Wha...what's she doing _here?"_ Penny couldn't help but ask.

"She said she had some information for you." Mental-Rudy declared matter-of-factly.

Penny shrugged. "Fair enough. What information might that be?"

Pearl gave a somber look. "First and foremost, before we go any further, I should make it clear that I was indeed taken by the Meta while you, Ruby, and Agent Grey were knocked unconscious. I am merely a memory I inserted within Miss Rose's mind to help you along your way."

Penny blinked. "I...I don't understand. If that's true, how are you talking to me right now?"

Pearl chuckled. "I'm not. Not really. I merely used logic to determine what questions you would ask, and in what order. Then I left the appropriate responses."

"Oh, _really?" _Penny suddenly grew a mischievous smile.

"Yes, really." Pearl nodded.

"Okay. I love Ruby Rose." Penny stated.

Pearl frowned, indignantly. "Stop trying to test me."

"I want to marry her and build multiple robot babies with her." Penny smiled wider.

"Seriously, _stop."_

"Okay, sorry." Penny sighed. "Then she really did it: the Meta won."

Pearl, or rather Mental-Pearl, smirked. "No, Penny. You and your friends are _very much_ still capable of beating her. Despite all her power and how much her mind has been altered by all those different A.I.s, she's still Cinder Fall at her core, and Cinder Fall is still human; still capable of being defeated…" She then shook her head. "...but believe it or not, the Meta isn't the most pressing issue. Listen very carefully; I have an important message for you. Tell Agent Grey - Qrow Branwen - that memory is the key."

Penny could only give a huff in reply. "'Memory is the key?' What does _that_ mean? ...and for that matter, why would I tell _Qrow _this? He's made it pretty clear that he can't be trusted."

Mental-Pearl gave a somber nod. "Your first question? Qrow will understand. As for the second question - and before you ask, even without having witnessed it myself, I've known him long enough to know that his experience with the A.I. fragment designated 'Penelope' has resulted in him being a bit unstable, mentally speaking, in his present state. And thus I had calculated that the odds of him causing harm to Ruby and/or one of her friends, yourself included, to be very high prior to all of this - I _know_ that it'll be _very_ hard to trust him, but like it or not, he knows more about Project Guardsman then just about anyone. If you want to have _any_ chance of freeing the Summer Maiden - who like Summer Rose, is a prisoner of Jacques Schnee - you'll need access to his knowledge."

Penny sighed. "Fine, I'll work with him, but I'm not going to like it."

Mental-Pearl gave a bitter chuckle. "I'd be surprised if you did at this point in time." She sighed. "Good luck, Penny, and be wary: the next time you see me, I may not be able to help you."

Meanwhile, Jaune, currently standing besides an unconscious Penny and Ruby, the latter of which was sporting several bruises that were being treated by Jean, gave a growl even as he held his sword to the neck of one Qrow Branwen - who had since woken up. "Give me _one_ good reason why I shouldn't take your head off...and no: saying that your Yang and Ruby's Uncle _won't_ qualify as an answer. Not anymore."

Penny grunted as she woke up. "Stand down, Jaune." The android just sighed in response to the flabbergasted look she got. "I just spoke with Pearl...uh, sort of. Turns out we can't kill him just yet, as he _might_ be able to help us rescue the Summer Maiden, who in turn can help us rescue the _real_ Summer Rose." She then gave a wicked grin. "Don't worry: we can always kill him later."

Qrow sighed. "Yeah, something tells me it's going to take some time for everyone to trust me again…"

"Nevermind that." Penny interrupted. "Pearl wanted me to give you a message, Qrow. She said _'memory is the key.'"_

"Memory is the key?" Qrow rubbed his chin in thought. "Memory is the _key…"_

"Yeah, but what does that _mean?" _Penny asked.

"How should I - AH!" Jaune was cut off when Qrow accidentally knocked him over when he sat up.

"That's _it!" _Qrow exclaimed. "Pearl, you're _beautiful!"_

"Whoa, what? What is it, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby tilted her head. "I don't understand, what does it mean?"

"It means in order to bring Jacques to justice, we have to go to the _source _of our problems… we need to go _straight _to Project Guardsman."

Sometime later, Qrow, now standing inside an old Schnee compound with Penny and Team RWBY, gave his allies a nod. "Alright we got in, but that's only part of our mission so no celebrating just yet."

Yang couldn't help the sarcastic scoff that escaped her. "Oh shoot, and I was going to be in charge of confetti."

Qrow sighed. "Ignoring that. We still need to reach the A.I. storage facility: we'll find what we need for our next step there. Security will be tight, though, since it was mostly likely given an update since Project Guardsman broke into here."

Penny blinked. "Wait, you mean to tell me that the Summer Maiden was kidnapped before?"

Weiss, meanwhile, couldn't help being confused. "I'm still stuck on wondering why this 'Project Guardsman' would feel the need to break into their own compound…"

Blake quirked an eyebrow as she glanced towards the Schnee family crest that was on full display on the walls. "Uh, Weiss…"

Weiss sighed. "Yes, yes: realized it the moment I said it: shut up."

Qrow gave a stoic nod of understanding. "Look, I promise to explain everything to the best of my abilities when we're out of here, but for now, we need to focus." He cleared his throat. "Anyways, my clearance as a Guardsman should get us close to the storage area, but they won't just let me through without the proper motivation." He nodded to Penny. "...which is why Miss Polendina will be coming with me as a 'hostage' while you guys provide a distraction as extra insurance."

Ruby frowned. "...any chance I could be the hostage instead? Not sure how I feel about my Uncle holding Penny at gunpoint."

Yang could only sigh even as Penny gave a grateful blush. "For the record, I don't like it any more then you do, Ruby, but no offense, but Penny is a bit more durable than you." She then gave Qrow a glare. "...though for the record, if anyone of us gets killed, I don't care if you're my uncle: you'll be _wishing_ that Cinder killed you."

Qrow could only give a nervous gulp in response. "Noted."

Once Qrow and Penny led the others inside, Qrow addressed the group. "Okay, Penny and I are gonna need a few distractions to keep the guards away from Penny and I. Do you guys think you could make some noise?"

"Ha! You may as well ask a _fish _if it can _swim!" _Vernal snorted as she took out her weapon and gave Ciel a firm slap on the butt. "C'mon, hot stuff! Let's make some _noise!"_

Ciel glared and the tribeswoman. "Touchez-moi encore comme ça, et je vais vous trancher la gorge, vous arracher les ongles et les coller dans vos yeux. (Touch me like that again and I'll slit your throat, rip off your fingernails, and stick them in your eyes.)" She warned.

"You come with _us, _Ciel." Rachael suggested. "This is _no time _to be fraternizing with girls you fancy."

Ciel facepalmed. "Putain ma vie. (Fuck my life.)"

"Good luck to you all." Penny waved farewell to her friends. Just as she was about to follow her own team, Ruby turned back and gave Penny a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Don't tell Weiss." She blushed.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." Penny shrugged, happily.

A few minutes later, Raven had discovered a particular file on a computer console. "Mom? What're you looking at?" Yang asked.

"This is… this is _everything _the SDC has on the _Maidens! _It's all _here!" _Raven gasped. "And they're getting close to finding out that _I'm _the new Spring Maiden! We… we have to _delete _this!"

"I can do that!" Velvet offered, stepping up to the console's keyboard. "But just deleting this file by itself won't be _enough. _We're gonna have to delete the _backups."_

"Can you do that?" Yang asked.

"Oh, _yeah! _No sweat!" The rabbit faunus cracked her knuckles before skimming over the keyboard at a remarkable pace.

Meanwhile, the rest of Teams CPPR, CFVY, and JNPR were doing their own work to keep the guards distracted. And by "keep them distracted," that meant they were actually engaged in all-out war with them.

"We can't let them escape!" The commander declared as he turned to one of his men. "Jo-An-Nes… Jo-An-Nes! I'm _talking _to you, Jo-An-Nes!"

The soldier groaned. "Sir, for the _millionth _time; my name is pronounced _'Jones!' JONES!"_

"Just go get the _tank, _Jo-An-Nes!" Another soldier snapped.

"Seriously! How am I the first person you people have ever met named _'Jones?!' _It's _very common!"_

But Jones wasn't able to get the tank anyway, as Coco mowed him and the others down with her minigun. Jean was trying her best to stay out of harm's way, hiding under a Warthog to avoid enemy fire. Thankfully, Ciel and Rachael were more than capable of keeping up with Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Fox. At last, there was only one soldier left standing. He was a stout young man with dark red hair, holding a weapon similar to Rachael's.

"I will _not _allow you to hurt my friends!" Rachael snarled, protectively. "Come at me if you _dare!"_

"I… I _cannot!" _The last guard threw down his weapon and held up his hands in surrender. "I swore _never _to harm a woman! Especially not a woman as _beautiful _as you!"

"How _dare _you!" Rachael snapped. "You _refuse _to fight me because of my _sex?! _I am _warrior-strong! _Proud _Mother Rushland!"_

"Rushland?" He echoed, eyes widening in disbelief. "Y-you are from _Rushland? I _am Rushland man!"

"What?" Rachael dropped her guard in shock. "But _how? _I thought I was the only one. Don't get me _wrong, _it's _great_ news_, _but how?!"

"Well, it wasn't _easy, _let me tell you." The man smiled and slowly got back to his feet. "But we _Kashtanovyys_ do not die so _easily!"_

"'Kashtonovyy?'" Rachael dropped her weapon as tears of joy welled in her eyes. "Mikhail? I-it's _me! Svetlana!"_

"Svetlana?!" Mikhail could hardly believe his ears. But as he saw the sparkling green eyes and bright crimson hair of his lost love, he knew it to be true. "Oh, my gods! This is the _best thing ever!"_

The two childhood lovers embraced each other in a loving hug. "Oh, _Mikhail! _I _missed _you, so much!"

"So did _I!" _Mikhail was now also in tears. "I was worried that the White Fang had caught you! How _stupid _I was! You are the _strongest woman _ever! If _anyone _could survive, it _had _to be you!"

"Oh, Mikhail, you _sweet talker!" _Rachael set the boy down to wipe her eyes. "But, _please, _darling! My friends and I are in the pursuit of _justice! _We cannot let Jacques Schnee find us! Please, do not sound the alarm."

"Well… this job has been a _good provider _for me, Svetlana…" Mikhail thought for a moment before shaking his head with a happy smile. "But for _you, _I will do _anything! _Oh, my darling, I want to _hug _you!"

"No!" Rachael started crying again, hoisting Mikhail up by the scruff of his shirt collar. _"Kiss _me!"

Team CFVY, Ciel and Jean could only watch as their friend began passionately making out with the guard. "Uh, what's _going on?" _Jean asked. Even Coco and Yatsuhashi were disturbed by such a bizarre display of affection.

Ciel, on the other hand - having already been told of the lovers' tragic past - was touched. "C'est ... c'est tellement foutu. Et pourtant ... très doux en même temps. (This… this is so fucked up. And yet… very sweet at the same time.)"

Meanwhile, Qrow and Penny had finally gained access to the SDC's main computer console. A few minutes of hacking later and Qrow found what he was looking for. Penny gazed in amazement at the bizarre cylinder the huntsman held.

"So this is the Summer Maiden?" She asked.

"No." Qrow shook his head as he gently put the containment unit on the floor. "This is _Penelope. My _A.I."

"Are you _kidding _me?!" Penny spluttered, angrily. _"This _is what we came here for?! Your _crazy A.I.?! _I _knew _we couldn't trust you!"

"It's not that _simple." _Qrow explained. "Penny, listen to me… everything you've been told is a _lie."_

"What? What're you…" Penny paused, remembering something that the Spring Maiden had told her. "W-what do you mean?"

"This mission goes back _way _before Summer and I got involved. Are you familiar with the story of the _Four Maidens?"_

"Of course." Penny nodded. "They were four sisters who met a kindly old wizard and earned the powers of the elements. They left to spread their gifts to the world and reincarnate into new bodies to keep _spreading _those gifts."

"Right, well… here's the _real _story." Qrow sighed. "Professor Ozpin… _is _that old wizard. He and Salem are the Maidens' _parents. _And just like their _dad, _they were cursed with reincarnation. Until a few years ago, Ozpin decided his daughters deserved a better life than constantly reliving their whole lives only to be reborn _over and over _again. So, a few years ago, he funded a special project that would give the Maidens _permanent bodies _to money was _easy. _Five thousand years is _plenty _of time to amass a fortune. The hard part was finding his daughters to _complete _the project. But as luck would have it, _one _daughter found _him."_

"The _Summer _Maiden." Penny gasped, enticed by Qrow's story.

"Right. Ozpin convinced the council that the Maiden was actually an advanced artificial intelligence he had developed on his own to see if machines could replicate protective auras. But when Jacques Schnee requested that he _share _the A.I. with him, he was forced to decline… so Jacques _stole _the Summer Maiden with the intentions of replicating it for his own purposes. But since the Summer Maiden was actually a _living soul, _it couldn't be copied. So instead, Schnee thought he could get her soul to _fragment _itself. His men put the Maiden through the most _grueling _situations-"

"They _tortured _her." Penny corrected, angry that anyone could do such a thing.

"Right. They _did _torture her. And every time she was pushed too far, she would _fragment _a portion of her soul and release it into their hands. And each fragment made up a certain _aspect _of the Summer Maiden. Kind of like weaponizing _multiple personality disorder. _The _Meta, _also known as _Cinder Fall, _was given _Priscilla - _the Maiden's _ambition/creativity. _Glynda was given _Phoebe - _the Maiden's _trust. _Summer was given _Paulette - _her _rage. _And _I _was given _Penelope - _the Maiden's _memories."_

"And _memory _is the _key!" _Penny snapped her fingers as the realization hit her. "So if Penelope is the Maiden's _memories, _then that means she remembers what Jacques _did _to the Maiden! She can prove to the council that Jacques has committed crimes against Remnant and bring him to justice! But… you said when _you _tried to integrate with Penelope, she nearly drove you _insane. _How are we going to keep her stable?"

"The only way to make her _safely _relinquish the memories is if the _true _Summer Maiden coaxes her." Qrow explained.

"But _where is _the Summer Maiden?!" Penny asked. "Shouldn't we be _there _instead of _here?!"_

"You still don't _get it, _do you?"

"Get _what?"_

"It's how you're able to _possess _other beings. Why you weren't affected when Paulette tried to take you over. Why you could sense _Pamela _in the Manta and _not _the false Summer A.I. Why you _listen _to everything Pearl tells you."

"... what're you _saying?"_

"Penny… there's _no such thing _as a synthetic person capable of generating an aura." Qrow stood up to look his friend in the eye. "Summer's brain patterns were _never _used as the basis for your mind and neither was Pietro Polendina's. The only person who can do the things you can is a _Maiden… _it's _you. You're _the Summer Maiden."

**To Be Continued.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

For what felt like an eternity, Qrow had been waiting for Penny to respond. He could understand that such a bombshell would leave her speechless, but Penny just stared at him with a perplexed expression. But he hoped she would eventually respond before the guards caught up to them. At last, the android girl gave an eloquent and appropriate reply to his statement.

"You're a _fucking idiot."_

"Wow." Qrow gaped. "That is _not _the response I was expecting. How much time have you spent with _Yang?"_

"Well, what _did _you expect?!" Penny spluttered. "You want me to believe that I'm some kind of _ghost _with elemental powers?!"

"Well, _yeah." _Qrow shrugged. "Why's that so hard to believe?"

"Uh, how about because I'm a _machine?" _Penny snapped back. "And I _have been _my whole _life! _And I have _memories _of being _programmed! _And at _no point _was I ever a _fairy tale!"_

"Well, because of the _nature _of your reincarnations, any memories of your past lives aren't going to _immediately _catch up to you." Qrow explained. "Add that to the fact that _Penelope _here is the fragmented piece _of _your memories and-"

"No! Stop talking! I _knew _I shouldn't have trusted you!" Penny crossed her arms, angrily. "I can't _believe _that this was all just a _monumental _waste of time!"

"Oh. So, I suppose you being a _robot _with _feelings _makes more sense?" Qrow arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah. It definitely sounds less _stupid."_

"A _machine."_

"Yes."

"A _living _A.I."

"Yup."

"A _robot!"_

"01011001, motherfucker."

"What's going on in here?" Ruby couldn't help but ask as she walked into the room.

"Your Uncle here has been trying to convince me that I'm the Summer Maiden," Penny said with an angry shrug.

"...okay."

"Wait, what?!" Penny looked at Ruby in shock. "You...you don't seriously buy this, do you?!"

"Why would it matter if you were?" Ruby couldn't help but give a shrug as she asked this. "We all accepted you when we thought you were just a machine. Why wouldn't we accept you if you were a _Maiden _like my Aunt? I mean, granted, Qrow's probably just trying to buy time so he won't go back to prison, but…"

"I'm sorry, what!?"

"Yeah, we stumbled upon some old Project Guardsman files while arranging that distraction you two needed and decided to copy them in case we needed the info later. Don't worry, we deleted them afterwards. Anyways, apparently he accidentally killed someone while he was in possession of his old A.I. and Jacques used his influence to try and lock him up and throw away the key or something." Ruby said with a shrug. "I admit, I didn't exactly understand everything, what with how I don't really understand politics all that much."

Qrow couldn't help but snort. "Don't stress yourself out kid: _nobody truly_ understands politics."

"Well, he's not _wrong."_ Raven declared as she entered the room, not _quite_ looking smug. "But I guess this means you can't hold me accidentally killing Carla over me anymore, huh?"

"Don't push it." her twin replied with a roll of his eyes. "The point is, with Penelope, we now have everything we need to _sink _Jacques Schnee. All we have to do is get her out of here then make sure this place _never _gets back on its feet."

"And how do we do _that?" _Yang asked.

"Simple; all we have to do is set off an _EMP." _Qrow smirked.

"You mean an _emp?" _Yang asked.

"What? _No. _EMP."

"Yeah, that's what she said." Ruby nodded. "Emp."

"You're - you're not supposed to _spell it out!" _Qrow replied. "It's pronounced _EMP!"_

"However it's pronounced, you couldn't have timed this better, old friend," Professor Ozpin remarked as he suddenly appeared.

"What do you mean?" Ruby couldn't help but ask.

"I mean that I intend to cast a spell - my _last_ spell - to bind my life force to the EMP you plan to set off. Thanks to the information Ozymandias provided me, I now have the means to end the cycle of rebirth _and_ render Salem _mortal."_ the reincarnating wizard declared.

"Oz." Qrow gasped out. "That won't stop her. Not right now, at least."

"Perhaps not," he said with a sigh. "But I'm willing to take that risk if it gives you - gives _humanity_ \- the chance to finally set both of our spirits at rest...alongside our children."

"Are you certain?" Raven asked. "We never _did_ learn what happened to the Winter Maiden."

"She won't be harmed, but like with Salem and myself, the cycle will end...for _all_ of the Maidens." Ozpin - no, _Ozma_ \- declared as he let his _true_ age show in his voice, but somehow managing a melancholy smile nonetheless. "But take it from me: death isn't so scary once you accept that it's a part of life."

Ruby just brought the old man into an embrace. "Goodbye, Professor...and thank you...for everything. I hope you find the peace you're looking for."

Ozpin just gave a bitter chuckle as he returned the hug. "You're welcome, my student...and I hope that you and your friends find your own peace as well."

Meanwhile, Rachael and Mikhail caught up to the rest of her friends. "What'd we miss?" Rachael asked, carrying Mikhail bridal-style.

"Well, it looks like Team CPPR won't be able to finish the semester at _Beacon." _Jean sighed, dejectedly.

"That's okay." Rachael smiled. "I was going to tell you this _later, _but I suppose _now _is as good a time as _any."_

"Que veux-tu dire par là? (What do you mean by that?)" Ciel's eyebrow arched.

"Well, Mikhail tells me that he used his money from working here to buy a small patch of _farmland _near Mistral." Rachael - not _needing_ to know French to understand what Ciel was asking - remarked as she gave her childhood lover another kiss. "So, I decided to _drop out _of Team CPPR and move in with him! We're getting _married!"_

"What?! But what about _us? _How can you just say goodbye to Team CPPR?" Jean whined.

"Well, to be honest, I'm _tired _of all the secrets Ironwood's been keeping from us." Rachael shrugged. "I mean, he didn't even tell us Penny was a _robot girl."_

"And I've grown pretty tired of _this place,_ too." Mikhail added.

"So, we basically decided that we could use a _break _from this life." Rachael concluded. "From now on, I just want a _nice, quiet, simple _life."

"Wow…" Coco tilted her sunglasses down. "I can't _imagine _a life outside of being a huntress."

"Oh, _stop." _Velvet scolded, slapping her girlfriend's shoulder. "I think it's _sweet!"_

"Oh, speaking of which, there's something you should know, Blake." Yang declared. "I picked up a little something while I was in Anima with my Mom and Holly."

The Cat Faunus couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow here. "Really? Well, what did you…?" She sucked in a breath as Yang suddenly got down on her knees.

"Blake Belladonna, I know that you've technically already asked this of _me_ around the time Holly showed up, but when this is over, would you do me the honor of making me the luckiest girl in Remnant?" Yang Xiao Long asked as she held out a ring.

"Yes." Blake replied as tears of joy welled up in her eyes. "A thousand times, YES!" No one was surprised when the two locked lips. In fact, some of them even broke out into applause.

"We can do a _double wedding!" _Rachael suggested. "This is _officially _the _best day _of my entire _life!"_

"Yeah!" Nora cheered. "Hey… I feel like I'm _forgetting _something."

"Me, too." Ren scratched his head. "But _what?"_

Suddenly, an explosion shook the entire compound, making everyone freeze.

"... I'll bet _that _has something to do with it."

"Yup."

Back in the lab, Qro handed the cylinder to his niece. "Ruby, you and Weiss take this and get it as _far away _from here as possible!"

"What?!" Ruby spluttered. "I can't just _leave you! _There is _nothing _that will get me to-!"

"If you don't, Penny will _die!"_

"Good luck, Uncle Qrow! C'mon, Weiss!" The Schnee heiress shrieked in shock as she was whisked away by her girlfriend's semblance.

"Clearance verified. The failsafe is now online. Awaiting activation."

Jacques - having shown up alongside General Jame Ironwood on one of the base's screens upon being alerted via silent alarm of the chaos occurring on-sight - blinked in shock at what the computer had just declared. "How did you get those codes?!"

"You might be surprised what I know, _Sir."_ Qrow declared, not even _trying_ to hide his disdain for the man, once again thanking the gods that Winter and Weiss were nothing like him.

"Warning, this is a last resort measure. Activating the failsafe will destroy all electronic equipment in this facility, including this terminal. Please confirm."

Jacques growled in irritation. "It was _Penelepe. She_ inherited the _memories,_ didn't she?"

Qrow gave a curt nod in response, knowing it was a statement more than a question. "I've known about what you did since the moment you implanted her in me."

Jacques simply gave a scowl. "Well, then I am _very sorry,_ Agent Grey, but Project Guardsman _no longer has need of your services."_

"Aw, _shit." _Qrow muttered as he dodged the enemy fire. "Confirm command!"

"No!" Ironwood shouted. "Override! Passcode: Tinman!"

"Override denied." The computer replied. "Voice authorization required: Agent White."

"What?" Jacques gasped. "Branwen! What did you _do?!"_

"Better question: what did _you_ do, Jacques!?" Qrow barked out. "Winter always knew you were up to no good, so she made sure that you couldn't stop her - stop _us_ \- from completing her - _our_ \- mission, even now."

"Agent White," Jacques growled. "Even MIA, she still remains a thorn in my side."

"It's over, Schnee." Qrow remarked.

"For once, we agree, Agent Gray."

Qrow yelled out in pain as he was literally stabbed in the back, gasping when he realized who the culprit was. "What are you doing, Cinder?! Don't you realize that this place is about to blow!?"

"Of _course_ I know," Cinder remarked, her anger/frustration clear in spite of how her voice was a scratchy mess, "but I'll be gone long before it happens. Plus, if it means that I can make your niece suffer for what she did to me, I could care _less_ about what happens to this place. Besides, you have something that belongs to me."

"Good timing, Agent Crimson," Jacques declared with a smug grin. "Take out EX-Agent Gray, and your reward shall be great."

"Indeed," Cinder growled out as all of her stolen A.I.s appeared beside her. _"We_ have _a lot_ to discuss with _you."_

Phoebe raised a curious eyebrow. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to know where my sister is."

Priscilla gave an arrogant chuckle. "Yes: where _is_ she located?"

Paulette simply growled in frustration. _"Where is the Summer Maiden?!"_

Jacques scowled. "The Maiden is not here. It has been moved far away. Attend to the matter at hand."

General Ironwood cleared his throat. "What he _means_ to say, Agent Crimson, is that we can discuss the Maiden later. What's important right now is that you prove that you can be trusted again. We need to trust you before letting you meet with _her,_ wouldn't you agree?"

Qrow couldn't help but give a bitter chuckle. "I see _President Schnee's_ habit of lying has rubbed off on you, James. Why else would you fail to mention that Cinder has _already_ met the Summer Maiden...multiple times, in fact. Isn't that right, _Penny?"_

Penny simply materialized over Qrow's shoulder as an A.I. hologram. "Salutations."

Paulette gave a teary-eyed gasp. "It's...it's _her."_

"Hi, sis," Luna/Pamela, Pearl, Phoebe, and two other A.I. called out with a smile.

"You...you were under my nose the whole time?!" Priscilla gasped out, Cinder's expression showing similar shock.

"You know I can see why you didn't want anyone else in your head. Got some pretty heavy stuff going on there. I think you need to talk to a professional." Penny couldn't help but remark, feeling strangely calm despite the circumstances.

Qrow - Agent Gray - could only give a helpless shrug in reply. "Well, that's too bad. I'm technically unemployed now, and my employers had _great_ mental health coverage."

Penny simply nodded. "Ignoring that. How much time do you need?"

Despite, well, _everything,_ Qrow couldn't help but hesitate with his answer. "Whatever you can give me, but Penny, you need to realize: when the EMP goes off…"

Penny shook her head. "When it goes off it won't matter if I'm the 'Summer Maiden' or what-have-you. Ruby was wrong before: it doesn't matter if I have a heart or a soul. At my core, I'm a machine, not a girl. When the EMP goes off, no matter how you spin it, I'm going to die…"

She then gained an expression of absolute resolve. "...but if I'm going to go down, I'm going down knowing that Jacques and company won't be able to force me to hurt my friends and family." She then smiled. "Besides, on the off-chance this _doesn't_ work and it turns out you _are_ right about me, I just _know_ that Ruby would make an _excellent_ Summer Maiden."

She then gave Cinder/The Meta a glare. "You want me Meta? Because I am _COMBAT READY!"_

Qrow watched as Penny dove into Cinder Fall/Agent Crimson/The Meta, nodding to himself even as she struggled to hold Cinder and the (other) Maiden fragments in place. "There goes a _true_ huntress…"

Jacques couldn't help but growl. "What's going on!?"

General Ironwood, having finally realized what Qrow, and by extension Ozpin, was up to, couldn't contain the feeling of panic that surged through him. "Qrow, wait, stop! There's still time! If you help us to secure Agent Crimson, I'm sure we could discuss this situation in a more civilized manner!"

Qrow only gave a bitter chuckle in reply. "Sorry, James, but no, we really couldn't…" With that, he activated the EMP and by extension triggered Ozpin's spell.

"Countdown initiated." The computer voice announced. "Five seconds to emp."

"'Emp?'" Qrow slapped his forehead out of frustration. "Oh, you've gotta be _kidding _me-"

The huntsman was cut off as the EMP and spell were activated. Penny dropped dead, immediately, while Cinder clenched her head in pain as the Fall Maiden and all of her Summer Maiden fragments screamed in agony. Even Ozpin fell to his knees as the spell took effect. As the last of his strength faded away, he saw the Fall Maiden forcefully exit Cinder's body. "F-f-father…?" She trembled, smiling weakly. "Thank you…"

With that, the spirit of Ozma was finally put to rest.

Meanwhile, the magical dome kept growing as it caught up to Teams CPPR, JNPR, and CFVY. Raven fell to the ground, stumbling in the dirt. Her magical powers were gone. "What the _hell?!"_

Seeing that the spell and EMP were getting closer, Ruby grabbed the unit containing Penelope and used her semblance to propel herself forward. "Ruby, what're you _doing?!" _Weiss shouted as their Warthog shut down.

"Don't worry, Penny! I'll save you!" Ruby shouted before falling off of the cliff. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

A few weeks later, Yang and Blake had officially tied the knot alongside Rachael and Mikhail in a small ceremony on Patch. Ruby and Weiss acted as their teammates' bridesmaids, with Holly being the flower girl. As a wedding gift, Raven and Taiyang offered to watch over Holly while the newlyweds were on their honeymoon. Said honeymoon was paid for by Weiss as her own wedding gift.

"This is _much _better than anything I imagined with _Adam." _Blake sighed, blissfully.

"Oh, so you _are _into dudes, too?" Vernal asked, curiously.

"Yeah!" Yang slung her arm over Blake's shoulder. "Blake's the _bi _in our _Bumbleby!"_

"Uh, Yang? I don't think there's an 'I' in _Bumblebee_ no matter _how_ you spell it." Blake corrected.

"Oh, no problem." Yang grinned, coyly. _"I _will just have to be in _you _to make it work."

Ruby rolled her eyes as her new sister-in-law blushed brighter than any rose she had ever seen. No longer in the mood for parties, the young huntress decided to check on her little pet project inside her dad's barn. With Beacon being shut down for the foreseeable future, she had to do something to keep herself preoccupied. Suddenly, she heard something rattling inside the barn. Arming herself with Crescent Rose, she kicked down the door, putting on her meanest war face. "Put your hands where I can see them!" She ordered.

"Ah! Please! Don't shoot!" The dismembered android only had half a torso, one arm, and a head, but she was trying her best to convince the huntress to spare her. "P-Please, don't hurt me!"

"Penny!" Ruby cried, dropping Crescent Rose and pulling the android into a tight hug. Tears of joy welled up in her eyes as she kissed her best friend's cheek. "I _knew _it! I _knew _you'd be okay! I was _so _worried! But you're _back!"_

"W-wait, _wait…" _The android smiled as she politely tried to push Ruby away. The huntress set the crippled robot down on her workbench, giving her a chance to breathe. "Um… _yes. _That's _right, _I'm Penny. Well, actually it's _Penelope._ But… who are _you?"_

"What…?" Ruby whimpered. Her tears stung worse than before.

"You must be thinking of my _mother!" _Penelope smiled in spite of Ruby's sadness. "I'm a _fragment _of her! Was she… your _friend?"_

"Y-yeah…" Ruby buried her face into her palms, sobbing. "Yeah, Penelope. We _were _friends. _Best _f-friends."

"Really?!" Penelope's smile grew wider. "That is _wonderful! _What is your name?"

"R-Ruby… Ruby _Rose."_

"Ruby? Why are you crying? Did someone _hurt _you?"

Ruby just wiped some tears from her eyes as she gave a bittersweet smile. "Yeah. Long story short, a man named Jacques Schnee went out of his way to hurt all of us, including his own daughters… but the important thing is your safe. The sacrifice Penny - the _original_ Penny - made wasn't in vain."

Penelope nodded as she pulled the hooded girl into a one-armed hug. "Tell me more about her. I'd like to know more about her… and _you._ I'd like to know all about you and your friends. _All _of your friends. I'd like to get to know the people Penny gave her life to save."

Ruby chuckled, sadly. "Better get comfortable then. This might take a while."

**To Be Continued**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

It had been a few weeks since her sister and Blake had gotten back from their honeymoon - they had spent a couple months out in Menagerie to help Blake find some closure with her parents and establish some peaceful connections between Raven and Ghira/Kali as a side project on top of the more… _pleasurable_ experiences they partook in - and Ruby was starting to make some progress on helping Penny - _Penelope_ \- remember her and her friends. The irony hadn't been lost on her that Jacques' torture had resulted in the Maiden's _memory_ ending up with _amnesia._ If nothing else, this gave her a deeper understanding for what _Weiss_ had to go through with _her_ after the initial battle with Paulette. At least she could take comfort in knowing that - according to what Penelope could gleam from some of the memories she _could_ access in the here and now - that the angry A.I. had come to regret what she had done in her final moments. Still, she'd need to remember to give Weiss a kiss later: the heiress truly _did_ love her if she had been willing to put up with her, especially if she were to assume that _her_ situation had any similarities to what _she_ was experiencing with Penelope, which she did.

Speaking of Weiss; the Schnee heiress had just finished cleaning up the mess she had made in the kitchen while the fruits of her labors finished baking in the oven. Weiss had been living in the Xiao Long household ever since they shut down Project Guardsman, refusing to go back to her abusive father. It had been a challenge adapting to a more modest life than what she'd grown up with, but she was determined to pull through. She had even sent in an application to attend Signal next semester so that she could finish her training and receive her huntress licence.

Just as she finished sweeping up all of the spilled flour, there was a knock on the doorway behind her. "Miss Schnee? Do you have a minute?" Taiyang asked.

"Certainly, Mr. Xiao Long." Weiss set aside her broom and took a seat at the kitchen table.

Taiyang sat opposite of her as he spoke. "Now, I want to talk to you about the _aptitude test _you took to enter my school."

Weiss held her head high with a proud smile. "Are you so _impressed _with my score that you wanted to say this _privately _to avoid making your daughters feel _envious?"_

"Uh… I'm having you _retake _it."

"WHAT?!" Weiss' jaw dropped. "But _why?!"_

"You didn't _answer _the questions." He explained, handing the sheet over for her to read. "You just wrote _your name _combined with my _daughter's _for every answer."

Weiss blushed bright red as she examined the answer sheet. Sure enough, every line was filled with names like; "Weiss Rose, Ruby Schnee, Weiss Schnee-Rose, Ruby Rose-Schnee, Mrs. Weiss Schnee-Rose" and so on. Weiss gulped, nervously, as she sank into her seat. "Uh, M-m-m-mister Xiao Long, I d-don't… I don't know what to _say, _I-"

"I was _hoping _to bring this subject up under better circumstances…" Taiyang began again. "But since you're still a _guest _in this house, I have to ask; what are your _intentions _with my daughter?"

"I-intentions?" Weiss blushed deeper. "Well, I haven't… haven't really thought much about _long term, _sir. But I do know that I have very strong feelings for Ruby."

"I see." Taiyang nodded. "Well, I can see that Ruby likes you, too, so I'll try to be _fair. _But make no mistake; if you _hurt _her in any way-"

"You'll _kill _me?" Weiss smiled, sheepishly. "Well, I'm afraid to tell you there's going to be a _line."_

"Right." Taiyang chuckled. "Yang can be pretty _intense."_

Just then, the oven's timer went off. "Oh! The cookies I made are ready!" Weiss slipped on the oven mits and pulled out the pan. She had forgotten to spray the pan, so scraping the cookies onto a plate was difficult at first. "It has chocolate chips _and _strawberries! I've spent _days _trying to get the recipe just right. Here, sir! Have the first one as a _thank you _for letting me stay here!"

Reluctantly, Taiyang selected one of the smaller burnt chunks and took a bite. Resisting the urge to gag, the veteran huntsman smiled as best he could. "Well… in all my years of cooking for two girls, I can honestly say I've never tasted anything like _this!"_

"Why, _thank you, _sir!" Weiss smiled, and carried the rest of the cookies off with a happy skip in her step. Had she stayed a few seconds longer, she would have seen Taiyang spit out the cookie.

"Poor Ruby…" He whispered.

Meanwhile, Weiss didn't find Ruby in her bedroom or in the living room. After checking the rest of the house, she yelled out. "Yang, get out here!"

As Yang ran out, the youngest Schnee daughter couldn't help but give a sigh of relief. "Okay, good, you aren't playing 'pet the cat' with Blake again…"

Yang shook her head, even as a teasing smirk graced her face. "No, I was trying to figure out where Ruby was...but I'll be sure to get to that as soon as I'm sure my sister's safe."

Weiss nodded. "Good to know we're on the same page. Uh, the part about where you want to make sure Ruby is safe, not the part where…"

"It's fine, I know what you meant…" Yang said with a chuckle, unable to keep an impish smirk from spreading across her lips. "Of course, if you feel like joining in, I might be able to convince Blake to make something work…"

Weiss couldn't help but groan in reply. "I swear, sometimes I wonder what Blake sees in you…" She sighed. "That aside, I'm guessing this means you don't know where Ruby is."

Yang shrugged. "I didn't say _that:_ I managed to narrow down her location to somewhere around that simulation room Beacon installed a while back." She blinked. "...though I have to wonder, why _are_ you looking for her? I mean, I'm her sister: it's my _job_ to be concerned for her...but you? The only times I've seen someone other than family _this_ concerned for someone else was when they…" Here, she paused, before giving Weiss a teasing grin. "Finally decided to give Ruby the booty call, eh?"

Weiss had to fight back her blush even as she leveled a glare at the blonde brawler. "Yes, Yang: I am _definitely_ going to chain the girl two years younger then me to my bed when she's only recently been given 'The Talk'..."

Yang just gave her teammate a flat look. "Yeah, the sarcasm is _very_ much appreciated."

Weiss sighed. "Look, I'll admit that I'm fond of your sister, but I'm not sure that she and I are quite that close at the moment." She raised an eyebrow. "Also, we're just going to have a sarcasm battle right now, right?"

Yang couldn't help but roll her eyes in reply. "Hey, you're the one who… Wait, were you being sarcastic right now by asking that?"

Here, Weiss couldn't help but wince. "...maybe we should drop this conversation and just get back to looking for Ruby."

Yang nodded. "Good plan."

At that moment, Ruby was exiting the school's basement with a heavy backpack slung over her shoulder. She was so close to finishing Penelope's new body; she just needed a few more pieces. "Hmm, I think there's some stuff in Beacon's old warehouses that you should be compatible with. We'll just have to go grab it and you should be good to go. I'm just sorry I couldn't find you something larger to store your core program in."

"It's okay, Ruby," Penelope declared from Ruby's smart watch. "I'm just lucky your watch is compatible with my program, period."

"Oh, Ruby, there you are," Weiss remarked as she too approached the empty academy. "I was hoping I'd run into…" ...and that was as far as she got before she found Ruby's lips on top of hers. She snorted as she broke the kiss. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was _that_ for?"

"Oh, I need a reason to kiss my girlfriend now?" Ruby couldn't help but squirm a little as Weiss's cheeks turned a tomato red: she had to admit that her girlfriend was rather cute while flustered. "...but truth be told, I _do_ have a reason. I've been working to help us access that information Uncle Qrow wanted us to, well, access, and it's been harder than I thought. Long story short, somewhere along the way, I realized that I haven't given you the amount of affection that I maybe _should_ have."

"I appreciate it, Dolt, but it's not necessary," Weiss said with a grateful blush. "I knew when we started dating that I likely wouldn't get the same amount of affection as _Penny_ did, but I'm not my father: I'm willing to take what I can get."

"Doesn't mean that I can't give you some more every now and then," Ruby declared, giving the girl another kiss on the cheek. "Still, other than trying to access the Maiden's memories and helping Beacon to rebuild, things _have_ been rather quiet lately."

"True," Weiss nodded, "but like you said, we're still recovering from when we shut Project Guardsman down. Hopefully things won't get _too_ hectic too quickly."

"You two." a harsh voice declared as an armed soldier approached them with a weapon at the ready. "Come with me. _Now."_

Ruby just sighed. "Weiss…"

"I know, I know. I jinxed it."

Sometime later, Dee, surrounded by a few dozen other huntsmen/huntresses, half of which were secretly corrupt in some way, shape, or form, fought to hide a smile as he readied to have Weiss and Ruby executed. "Ready, aim..."

Ruby quickly cleared her throat. "Uh, excuse me? Could someone explain to us what this is all about?"

Dudley, noticing that some of the non-corrupt half of the gathered huntsmen/huntresses briefly lowering their weapons, apparently having been asking that same question, quickly makes a show of emphasizing his very real frustration to try and get said huntsmen/huntresses back under control. "Is that _really_ necessary? You're going to die anyways..."

Weiss shrugs and pointed to Ruby. "I can't speak for the dolt here, but this isn't the first time I've been on the wrong end of a gun, and at least _they_ had the courtesy to let me know why I was about to die."

Dee briefly panicked as several of the legit huntsmen/huntresses dropped their weapons in shame at being compared to the White Fang and/or any of the other people/organizations that tried to attack the Schnee Dust Company and/or take any one of the Schnee children hostage. Managing to calm down for a while, he gave said huntsmen/huntresses a growl. "I'll deal with _you_ later." He then turned back to glare at Ruby and Weiss. " ...and for the record, you should know full well what you did: you were in charge of our ammunition, and you lost it all." He blinked as Ruby briefly snorted in amusement. "...and exactly _how_ is that funny to you?"

"Sorry, I know this isn't the best time, but really, you have to admit that it's kind of ironic that the reason you're about to _shoot_ us is because we don't have enough ammo." Ruby smiled as some of the huntsmen/huntresses, both legit and corrupt, let out a chuckle of their own, quickly pointing them out. "See? _They_ get it."

Weiss held a hand over her mouth to conceal her own brief chuckle before clearing her throat. "...and for the record, we didn't _lose_ that ammo: we lent it to our teammates...and made sure to arrange to have said ammunition replaced as soon as possible."

One of the legit huntsmen couldn't help but blink. "Wait, was _that_ the document Dudley ordered me to shred? And come to think of it, Dee never _did_ let me see what exactly was in those crates he had me put into alternate storage." He lowered his weapon and turned towards the door. "Well, it'll be a simple measure to gather the crates, shredded papers, and some tape for said papers and we can..."

Dudley, having _officially_ lost his patience, angrily shot the huntsman in the head before aiming it at everyone else, giving a growl as he did. "Nobody's going _anywhere_ until Team RWBY's down to just two members!"

Weiss couldn't help but glare even as she held a startled Ruby close. "Wow, not even _pretending_ to be anything more than a common thug now, are you?"

One of the corrupt huntsmen merely gave an arrogant smile. "Insult us all you want, but you'll be dead soon enough. So, any last words?"

Ruby, despite the obvious danger, couldn't help but suppress a smile. "Yeah: anyone else hear music?" Needless to say, she was practically squealing as Raven came barreling through the wall driving the Warthog, taking out Dee, Dudley, and the majority of the corrupt huntsmen/huntresses as she did. "Nice timing, Auntie Raven."

"Only the best for my niece." Raven said with a smirk before giving a quick look at her surroundings. "That's all them, right? Everyone else is on the level, right?" She paused as one last rogue huntsman tried to charge them...only for him to be stopped by one of Weiss' Glyphs.

"Yes, that's all of them." She said with a smile before she turned to the other huntsmen. "Can I trust you to hold them?" She turned to Raven after the huntsmen gave a nod of confirmation. "I'll join you in a bit: I need to find that alternate storage space that one guy mentioned before Dudley snuffed him out."

Raven shrugged. "Fair enough, but hurry up: we've got a lead on who was giving Dee and Dudley orders."

Weiss merely nodded. "Shouldn't take too long." She began to walk off before pausing. "Oh, but before I go: Ruby?" She gained a teasing grin. "Shotgun!"

"Fuck!" Ruby cursed, but then gained a wicked grin. "Shotgun's _lap~!"_

"_FUCK!" _Weiss blushed brighter than ever before.

A few minutes later, Weiss was desperately trying to hide her excitement as Ruby rested in her lap during the entire trip. "Where did you get this information?" She asked Raven.

"Well, your friend _Coco _mentioned seeing someone wearing armor similar to Qrow's talking to them on her scroll." Raven explained. "Apparently, Dee and Dudley were hired by this person to prevent Beacon from reopening."

"Where did she say she saw them?" Weiss rolled her eyes. "A _sex shop?"_

"She said it was _'someplace with some sand.'" _Raven shrugged. "But last I checked, Team CFVY was just leaving an abandoned temple in the desert. And I think I know _exactly _where she's talking about. As soon as we pick up Yang and Blake, I'll create a portal and we can check it out."

Hours later, Team RWBY and Raven stepped through one of her portals. Yang was upset to see that she was once again coated in the strange yellow liquid, despite the others stepping through and remaining perfectly clean. "Just _me?! Seriously?!" _She fumed. "What is this _yellow stuff?!"_

"Oh, _calm down, _honey." Blake winked. "We can wash it off in the shower later tonight."

"Do you two ever _stop?" _Raven grunted, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, _really?" _Yang arched an eyebrow. _"I'm _going to get slut shamed by my mother who still wears _thigh-highs?"_

"I'm not _slut shaming, _I'm _horniness shaming." _Raven corrected. "You think just because I dress like this, I'm constantly trying to get in your dad's pants?"

"Well, why _else _do you hang out with him so much?"

Raven just shrugged with a modest smile. "He makes me _laugh."_

After Raven left to take care of Holly, Team RWBY went off to inspect the temple Coco had mentioned. Suddenly, the group spotted a small platoon of mercenaries being led by someone in Project Guardsman armor. They appeared to be a female, but the helmet seemed to distort their voice. "Damn it!" They cursed. "Alright, _listen up! _Dee and Dudley's ploy has _failed. _It won't be long before a group of huntsmen find out about our operation. We need to speed this up! Get inside!"

Ruby readied Crescent Rose with an anxious smile growing on her face. "Okay, this is it." She whispered to herself. "The final challenge between _me _and my _best friend's new body." _Suddenly, the hooded huntress felt the barrel of a firearm press against her head and heard the undeniable click of a bullet entering a chamber. "... _crap." _She muttered.

The mercenaries confiscated their weapons and shoved them in front of the leader. "Well, well, well…" They chuckled. "If it isn't the infamous _Team RWBY?"_

"Trifa?! Is that _you?"_ Blake, eyes wide in shock/recognition, couldn't help but ask.

"Heh: I haven't heard _that_ name in _quite_ some time," came the reply of a _male_ voice. With the voice-synthesizer deactivated, the leader took off his helmet, revealing a wicked grin. "Hello, ladies."

"Who _are _you!" Blake fumed. "Where's _Trifa?!"_

"Dr. Merlot is my _name. _I am what _your _society considers a _'mad scientist.' _And as for Ms. Trifa…" The mercenary leader almost looked regretful as he slipped the helmet back over his head. "If it makes you feel any better, she went down _fighting."_

"What should we do with them, boss?" One mercenary asked, not noticing Ruby reaching for one of his grenades. "Kill 'em?"

"Not so _fast, _my good man." Merlot soothed. "They're no good to us _dead… _although, I suppose I _could _perform their autopsies…"

"Okay, start with _theirs!" _Ruby threw the grenade right in front of the mercenaries' feet. When everyone scattered away from the impending explosion, Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose and tossed the bag of other weapons to Weiss. "RUN!" She shouted.

The explosion kicked up a cloud of sand, blurring everyone's vision. Weiss and the others grabbed their own weapons and blindly fired into the mild sandstorm. Unfortunately, the mercenaries were equipped with special goggles that let them see clear as day. Soon enough, Team RWBY had just barely made it to the temple when they were surrounded by their attackers. One mercenary fired and struck Weiss in the leg, much to her teammate's dismay.

"Ha ha! _Direct _hit!" Merlot laughed. "Excellent work, Jones! You just earned yourself a raise!"

"Thank you, sir!" The mercenary replied. "But my name's actually pronounced _'Jo-An-Nes!'"_

"Crap! We're _surrounded!" _Blake shouted. "What do we do?!"

Just then, a stone door slid open, revealing the missing Team JNPR. "Get in!" Jaune ordered.

Team RWBY entered the temple just in time before the stone door slammed shut. While the rest of the group coughed from the dust kicked up and tried to catch their breath, Ruby spotted a disabled Atlesian Knight-200. "Yes…" Her eyes sparkled. _That's _what I need."

While the hooded huntress took off her backpack to resume her project, the others caught up with JNPR. "Jaune, what's going _on?" _Blake asked. "Who _are _those people?"

"Hell if _I _know." Jaune shrugged. "All I know is that they can't break in. _CAN YOU, ASSHOLES?!"_

Suddenly, they hear a noise that came from the inside.

Jaune yelped. "Whoa! Did they break in?"

Blake blinked. "Wait, where's Ruby?"

"Ow! Hey, watch it!"

Ruby winced. "Ah, sorry! Sorry! Just hold still for a little longer!"

She then heard someone clear her throat. Turning, she saw that everyone had followed their voices until they found her...holding a severed Atlesian Knight-200 head with glowing green eyes, which no doubt must have looked odd without any context. Needless to say, Ruby couldn't help but give an embarrassed/sheepish grin. "... uh, I can explain."

Penelope, meanwhile, couldn't help but smile upon realizing that _these_ were the friends Ruby had told her about. "SALUTATIONS! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Weiss could only blink. "Wait a minute, I recognize that voice... Penny?"

Ruby shrugged. "Uh, _kinda._ I mean, not _exactly_. See, technically, this isn't _really _Penny. This is the _memory_ of Penny. Her name is _Penelope."_

Penelope smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"You already said that," Weiss declared, already feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.

"... so I did!"

Yang blinked, feeling a sense of déjà vu herself. "Wait, she has all of Penny's memories?"

"Uh, almost," Ruby said with a shrug. "Uncle Qrow mentioned that she had been damaged when the two of them were separated, which seems to have resulted in some _repressed memories._ Odds are that if she remembers them too fast, it could hurt her."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "So wait: does that mean that she doesn't remember us?"

Penelope smiled. "Oh, fret not, new friends! Ruby has told me all about you while I was trapped inside the unit! I already know you all!"

Despite how proud she was of how Ruby was handling the situation, Weiss couldn't help but have her doubts. "Oh, really? Then who am I?"

Penelope gained a thoughtful expression. "Hmmm... white hair, white clothes, grumpy face... you must be Weiss, the princess of Atlas?"

Blake snorts. "Well, she's not that far off. Who am I?"

Penelope smiled. "Oh! You must be Blake, the cat who likes to read filthy books and then reenact them with your wife, Yang, who is also Ruby's sister!"

Blake blushed. "N-no I don't!"

Yang smirked. "Funny: I don't remember saying 'No' to the possibility."

Penelope blinked even as Blake blush grew even brighter. "Oh, _you're_ Yang? I thought it was the other yellow girl."

Jaune growled. "I'm not a girl!"

Penelope winced. "Apologies, but if you're not Yang and you're not a girl, then you must be John-"

"JAUNE!"

"And he's the boy who vomits on planes. The red one must be Pyrrha Nikos, the warrior whose judgement is clouded by one-sided love."

Nora smirked even as her two teammates both gave their own grumbles about that statement. "Do me! Do me!"

Penelope snorted. "You are, Nora. The crazy one."

Ren sighed. "And me?"

Penelope nodded. "And the last one must be Ren, the voice of reason among Team JNPR."

Ren blinked. "Huh, that's actually very accurate."

Weiss gave a bittersweet smile. "Wait for it..."

"And also, the tragic edgy ninja with a tortured past?"

Weiss snorted. "There it is."

"Wait a minute, where'd you _get _a fragment of Penny?" Blake asked.

"Oh, don't you remember, Blake?" Ruby smiled, proudly, as she explained. "Uncle Qrow gave it to me when we took down the SDC. I tried putting her inside Penny's _first _body, but it wasn't going to last very long. So, I've been looking for parts of other robots to give her a better body!"

"Wait, you mean the _memory unit?" _Weiss spluttered. "Ruby! You were supposed to give it to the _authorities!"_

"I'm sorry…" Ruby stammered. "But, aside from how the _memory unit_ had a case of _amnesia_ that I was trying to alleviate, Penny is my _best friend, _and I'd do _anything _to keep her safe. When Coco told us JNPR was at a place with lots of robot parts, I _knew _I could save her!"

"Wait… you guys didn't get our distress signal?" Jaune frowned.

"No, we _did." _Weiss shrugged. "It just didn't sound _important _at the time. We came because of what _Coco _told us."

"Oh, _I see!" _Jaune fumed. _"We _call you asking for help; nothing _serious_. _Coco _tells you some weird threesome story; _red alert!"_

"Yeah, pretty much." Yang grinned, enjoying Jaune's frustration.

"We must _fight!" _Penelope shouted, floating towards the entryway. "I am _combat ready!"_

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Ruby protested, hugging the floating head to her chest in a vain attempt to keep her safe. But the head just dragged her along. "I am _not _losing you again!"

"You'd rather the sacrifice of Penny - the _original_ Penny - have been in vain?" Penelope barked back. "Because that's what'll happen if you let everyone be sacrificed to keep _me_ safe. I might not remember _everything,_ but I _do_ remember enough in the here and now to do some _serious_ damage to Jacques' operation. Besides, Penny Polendina wouldn't just stand by and let that happen, and neither will I!"

"I...I'm sorry." Ruby declared as she bowed her head and shame. "I just...I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to her _or_ my Mom. I loved them, you know?"

"I miss Summer, too, Rubes," Yang remarked as she brought her sister into a hug. "But she wouldn't want you to be tied down by her memory… _especially_ while she's still being held hostage by Jackass Schnee. The thing about love is that if you truly care about someone, the best thing you can do is let them go. If he or she comes back, they're yours to keep, but if not, they were never yours in the first place."

"She's right," Weiss declared with a nod. "President Schnee couldn't accept that Summer Rose wasn't his, so he tried to chain her down. Do _you_ want to make that same mistake with _Penny?"_

"...no," Ruby said with a determined glare. "I don't want that at all. I'm not going to stop until _Jacques'_ Project Guardsman is reduced to ashes."

"And we'll be right behind you the whole time." Blake said with a grin. "So, what's the plan, Ruby?"

"Okay, Jaune? You opened the door before, so I assume you know _how _to open it?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, when you open it again, it'll throw them off long enough for us to attack them!"

"... _that's _your strategy?!" Weiss spluttered. "We're going to _wing it?!"_

"Well, considering we are _literally _trapped in here…" Ruby pointed out, motioning to the empty temple room. "... we don't have many more options."

"... damn, I hate when you're right." Weiss muttered.

"Okay, Penelope, stay behind me." Ruby ordered as she reloaded Crescent Rose. "Yang and Pyrrha will take point while Weiss shields them with a glyph."

"But I can _help!" _Penelope protested.

"You are a _head!" _Ruby snapped back. "So why don't you quit while you are!"

At last, Jaune reopened the door and the two teams forced their way through the crowd of mercenaries. Weiss' semblance was being pushed to its limit as it absorbed multiple types of dust being fired from the enemy weapons. Thankfully, the others were able to defend her.

However, Yang somehow managed to get seperated from the group as the majority of the mercenaries died down. Unfortunately, she hadn't noticed that her aura was dangerously low as someone snuck up behind her. A gunshot went off, and Yang fell to the ground.

Dr. Merlot growled even as he pointed his gun at his wounded adversary, even in spite of his own, far more severe injuries. "Yang Xiao Long, daughter of Raven Brawnwen, and _just_ like her mother, _both_ of them, _quite_ insistent on interfering in business that doesn't concern her. I _knew_ that I should have killed you the moment I set my eyes on you, _in spite of_ the respect my late comrade had for them!"

Yang, having filed away that bit about her mother - both of them - for later, couldn't help but snort. "Hey, the way you choose to dress up as her, I suspect she was _more_ than a 'comrade'...but that actually raises the question: what _are_ you up to that _both_ of my mothers would be meddling in your affairs?"

Dr. Merlot gave a bitter chuckle. "Doesn't matter now, because I'm going to kill you...and then I'm going after your _sister_ next!"

Penny simply floated over to him with a growl. "Over my dead body!"

Dr. Merlot gave an arrogant chuckle, quirking an eyebrow as he did. "Whatever you are, what could you _possibly_ do to stop me?" He quickly paled as Penny's eye started to glow and he realized what was about to happen. "Oh, son of a..." The sinister scientist was cut off by a bolt of lightning that fried his entire body.

Penny soon found herself glaring at Dr. Merlot's corpse. "My name is Penelope Polendina and you will fear my laser face!"

Yang smirked. "Ooh, _hell_ yeah! _That's_ what you get for thinking you can mess with the daughters of Raven Branwen and Summer Rose!"

Meanwhile, Ruby's only response was to give a happy clap. "Penny, that was _awesome!_ How'd you _do_ that?"

Penenelope could only move as if to shrug. "I'm not sure, really: I just got really mad and it just...happened."

Weiss couldn't help but shudder. "Note to self: be _extra_ nice to Ruby and Penny from now on."

"This is _great!" _Ruby hugged the floating head as she cheered. "Penny's _back, _we're all _together, _and _nothing _could _ever_ go wrong at _this_ point!"

Meanwhile, at the floating kingdom of Atlas, a certain huntsman was being led out of his prison cell. Qrow Branwen stood before General Ironwood in chains. "Hello, Agent Gray." Ironwood greeted. "Guards, leave us."

The guards saluted and exited the room without a word. Qrow glared at his former employer. "What's up, Jimmy?"

"I must say, I was surprised that you didn't use your semblance to escape." Ironwood mused, leaning back in his chair. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you don't _have _it, anymore."

"What do you _want, _James?"

"Well, as it turns out, your niece and her friends _failed _to hand Penelope over to the authorities." Ironwood explained. "We have reason to believe that Ms. Rose has been working to _rebuild _her friend. We _need _to get Penelope back before she reveals our operations."

"Why should _I _care?" Qrow shrugged. Internally, he was screaming in frustration at the fact that Ruby hadn't done what he asked her to.

"Because, this is your chance to _redeem _yourself." Ironwood elaborated. "If you help us get Penelope back, we'll absolve you of all your crimes, and give you your huntsman licence back."

Qrow seemed to consider the offer for a minute. At last, he gave his reply. "Deal. When do I leave?"

"Are you _sure, _Branwen?" Ironwood asked. "How do you expect your niece to comply when you ask her to surrender her best friend?"

Qrow let loose a dark chuckle from his throat. "Jim. _Jimmy. Jimmy-boy… _I've been _betrayed, lied to, shot _in the _back, _and _locked up _and left for _dead. _What the hell makes you think I'm going to _ask?"_

**To Be Continued.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

A few days later, Ciel found herself taking some time to fix up some of Beacon's vehicles, humming a tune she'd heard playing on the Warthog's radio as she did. Once again, she considered herself grateful that Team CFVY had agreed to house her and Jean while they waited for some new potential teammates to show up. While part of her _did_ hold out some hope that Rachael and Mikhail would return to aid them at some point, she had learned from her time stuck speaking only French not to put all her eggs in one basket. She was just lucky that it turned out a part of her _did_ remember how to speak English, which meant that she was slowly, but surely, working her way back up to where _everyone_ could understand her, not just Velvet and a few of the instructors.

Speaking of the rabbit Faunus, Velvet ran up to Ciel, showcasing a mixture of panic and relief on her face as she did. "Ciel: thank goodness you're safe. You know where everyone else is, right?"

Ciel blinked, a sheepish grin soon appearing on her face. "Yeeah, sorry: I've been so focused on making sure these vehicles were in working order, I might have tuned everything else out, though we can always call them if you're so worried about them."

She then paused. "Wait: 'thank goodness you're safe': that implies you thought I wouldn't be…"

Velvet shook her head. "It's not a slight against you: just that you should know as well as the rest of us how dangerous the Meta is."

Ciel paled. "Attendez une minute: le Meta est _ici?!_ Je pensais qu'elle était morte! (Wait a minute: the Meta is _here?!_ I thought she was dead!)"

Velvet nodded, knowing full well that despite the progress her friend had made at relearning English, she'd still slip into French every now and then. "Trust me: we're _just_ as upset about this as you are, but right now we need to…" ...and that was as far as she got before her eyes widened, having spotted someone in the distance.

"Watch out!" She pushed Ciel down to the ground, the two of them just _barely_ avoiding a blast from Cinder/the Meta as she did. "Son of a bitch!"

"Fils de pute!"

Velvet gained a steely expression even as she activated a homing device she was carrying. "Good thing I had a contingency in case this happened: Team CFVY and the others should be here soon. In the meantime, we don't have to _win:_ we just need to hold her off until they arrive."

"Hey, guys!" Pyrrha waved as she walked up to the duo, who were already readying themselves for battle. "Raven wanted to check and see how you were…"

"We can worry about our progress report later, Pyrrha," Ciel somehow managed to growl out in spite of her growing fear/frustration/anger. "We're about to deal with my father's killer."

The "Invincible Girl's" eyes widened, before gaining a glare of her own. "Not without _me_ you're not. Don't forget: she used _me_ to kickstart the Battle of Beacon. In a sense, I'm the _gun_ she used to help eventually bring about Beacon's destruction."

"Pyrrha, _none_ of us blame you for what happened," Velvet declared. _"Penny_ didn't blame you for what happened."

"Maybe not," Pyrrha said with a shake of her head."but that doesn't mean that I didn't play a part in everything. It's only right that I help to clean up the mess that I helped create."

"Even so, we can't let you take her on alone," Ciel argued.

"I'm not," Pyrrha declared with a grin. "I have you guys, don't I?"

Velvet couldn't help but snort. "Hard to argue with that."

Right as she said this Cinder/The Meta burst into the clearing...only to freeze in her tracks upon spotting one Pyrrha Nikos, growling as she did. "While Ruby is on the _top_ of my kill list, _you_ are _certainly_ a close second," she declared as she directed the nastiest glare she could muster at the "Invincible Girl."

"Funny," Pyrrha angrily remarked as she readied her weapons. _"I_ was hoping we'd get the chance at a rematch myself."

"And as for Ruby," Velvet declared as she summoned her own weapon, Anesidora, which created a hardlight copy of Coco's Gianduja for her to use. "You're going to have to go through _us_ first."

The Meta let out an arrogant chuckle. "I was _hoping_ you'd say that."

Ciel simply growled as she summoned her Chronal Assassin, quickly shifting it into it's pistol configuration. "Bonjour, je m'appelle Ciel Soleil. Tu as tué mon père: prépare-toi à mourir. (Hello, my name is Ciel Soleil. You killed my father: prepare to die.)"

"Toi en premier. (You first.)" Cinder said with a smug grin before she charged the group.

Meanwhile, Yang, standing in front of a Mongoose - a specialized ATV brand that had recently arrived on site - felt the need to clear her throat. "Sooo, how do you feel?"

Penelope - currently controlling said vehicle - could only give a frustrated sigh in reply. "Honestly? Like running over each and every one of you."

Yang winced. "Yeah, sorry. Just try and remember this is only temporary. We're still working on getting you a proper body and Weiss didn't feel like getting any of us deep fried on the off-chance you lost your temper again."

Penelope just sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry."

Nora looked to her Team Leader. "You know, Jaune? I think I'll let _you_ call 'Shotgun' on this one."

Jaune just shook his head. "Fuck that!" He then blinked, before giving Penelope a sheepish grin. "Uh, no offense, Penny."

Penelope, deciding to appear in her spiritual form on the Mongoose's windshield, just shrugged. "None taken. Not going to lie, though: this situation kind of sucks."

Yang just grinned. "Hey, look on the bright side: temporary or not, you've got your own body now."

Penelope could only give a glare in reply. "My own body? Yang, I'm a freaking ATV!"

Yang shrugged. "True, but hey: you can _literally_ pick up your date now!" She then blinked. "Actually, I just realized: what sort of dates would you even be going on? I mean, _Penny_ used to date _Ruby_ before learning of their fake family ties, but did _all_ of the Maiden fragments swing that way?"

Here, Penelope could only blink. "I...you know, I've never thought about that. I don't think _any_ of us, with the exception of Penny, ever gave any serious thoughts towards pursuing any romantic interests that we may or may not have had. I mean, how many people do _you_ know that would want to go on a date with a _ghostly_ _Terminator?"_

Ruby just smiled. "You know, aside from the fact that we technically share a sibling bond, I'd _totally_ go on a date with you if you'd ask." She smiled as Penelope gave a grateful blush...only to pause as she noticed something else. "Hey, what's this do?" She asked as she pressed something on the Mongoose's dashboard.

"HONK!" Penelope couldn't help but give Ruby an angry blush. "Ruby, I love you, but please stop messing with the dashboard of my temporary body."

Ruby could only give a sheepish blush of her own. "Sorry."

Meanwhile, Team CFVY, Ciel, and Pyrrha were now riding the Warthog trying to get away from the Meta. Fox turned to the blue-clad French girl. "Hey, Ciel!" He called. "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?!"

Ciel arched an eyebrow. "No, I do _not _want to sleep with you."

"Oh, sorry." Fox blushed. "It's hard to read French in Braille. What I _meant _to say was 'can you hand me a grenade from Coco's bag?'"

While touched by the fact that some of her friends _were _trying to learn French for her, Ciel put that aside for later as she reached into Coco's bag. She tossed him a grenade, and his blind eyes glared at the Meta as his equipment locked onto her heartbeat. "Hey, bitch! Take _this!"_

Everyone watched in astonishment as the grenade flew through the air until it struck Cinder right on the head. "Nice _throw." _Coco complimented, feeling slightly turned on.

"Yeah! Three points, ya dirty _whore!" _Fox shouted as the grenade went off.

Unfortunately, this only made Cinder angrier. Armed with her own grenade launcher, she fired at the Warthog and hit the tire. Velvet lost control of the steering and the vehicle crashed into a rock. Everyone fell out of the car except Pyrrha who tried to use the turret to kill Cinder.

"What're you _waiting _for?!" Yatsuhashi asked, noticing that she wasn't turning it towards her. "Shoot her!"

"I _can't! _It can still _fire, _but I can't get it to _turn!" _Pyrrha cried. "What should I do?!"

Ciel rolled her eyes, sarcastically. "Vous pouvez peut-être la convaincre de se tenir juste en face. (Maybe you can convince her to stand right in front of it.)"

"What did she say?" Coco asked, looking at Velvet.

"I don't know, I couldn't hear her." Velvet replied; she hadn't been paying attention as she tried to fix the turret.

"It's okay." Fox smiled. "She said 'maybe you can convince her to stand right in front of it.'"

"Well _that's _not going to work!" Coco scoffed. "C'mon, Ciel, try to _think _before you _speak."_

Ciel was furious. "Sérieusement?! De toutes les choses que je vous ai dites dans ma langue maternelle, _c'est_ celle que vous avez comprise?! (Seriously?! Of all the things I've said to you people in my native language, _that's _the one you understood?!)"

The disgruntled French girl fell to the ground as the Meta fired a special kind of dust at her. Yatsuhashi picked her up and tried to wake her while Coco and Velvet opened fire. But the Meta activated a shield that deflected their blasts. Worse yet, the young huntresses soon ran out of ammunition. "Oh, no! We're dead!"

"Alright, that's enough, Cinder." A voice called. It was Qrow Branwen.

"Mr. Branwen!" Pyrrha cheered. "Thank goodness you're here-!" She was cut off by a sudden gunshot from Harbinger.

"Ugh…" Fox cupped his chest out of reflex, feeling something wet and sticky coating his fingers. He fell to the ground soon after.

"Fox!" Coco shouted as she reached for her handbag. "You son of a _bitch, _I'll kill you-!"

Yatsuhashi tried to shield Velvet with his body as they watched Coco get gunned down, but it was no good. Qrow stepped over the fallen Team CFVY and approached the dumbstruck Pyrrha Nikos, taking a place beside the Meta. The experimental aura-draining dust would insure that the upperclassmen would stay down.

"You…" Pyrrha teared up as she stared at the bloody bodies of her friends. "How _could_ you? Ruby always said you were a man of honor, but I haven't seen any proof of it so far!"

"Oh, relax," Qrow declared, pointedly ignoring the way that comment made him want to vomit in favor of trying to complete the mission. "They aren't dead just yet. There's still plenty of time for your little medic friend to patch them up." As if to prove his point, Jean had already gotten to work trying to revitalize the group.

Agent Gray then placed his weapon's blade at Pyrrha's neck. "That said, I wouldn't talk about honor, considering how you…"

"We didn't forget!" Pyrrha barked out. "It simply took longer to repair Penelope then expected."

Qrow couldn't help but blink as he lowered his weapon a little. "Repair?"

"Ironwood didn't tell you?" Pyrrha snarked back. _"Apparently,_ Jacques tortured the Maiden's _memory_ to the point of _amnesia_ after the two of you were separated. Ruby needed a bit of time to help her recover enough info to help us complete the mission _you_ gave her. We were actually working on getting Penelope to the authorities when _you_ showed up with _her,_ traitor."

Despite still being committed to the mission, Qrow Branwen couldn't help but cringe a little, both at the way the "Invincible Girl" gave a not-so-subtle angry nod to Cinder - the woman who had tried to kill them all not so long ago - _and_ at the realization that Ruby and company apparently _hadn't_ betrayed him. "Remind me to have a _talk_ with Jimmy later."

He then raised Harbinger back up to Pyrrha's neck. "Be that as it may, however, I have my orders, so _here's_ how things are going to work."

Meanwhile, Penelope's head was finally attached to the rest of her body. "Thank you, Ruby! I feel _much _better, now! I've never had my own body before! If I had lips, I'd _kiss _you!"

"You're welcome, Penny!" Ruby beamed. "Oh, I can't wait for the others to see you again!"

"See who?" Everyone jumped in surprise.

"Mom? What're _you _doing here?" Yang asked. "I thought you were with Team CFVY."

"Well, I _was. _But then I decided I'd rather be _anywhere _but there." Raven replied. "So, I sent Pyrrha home and told her we'd be heading back to Beacon soon after. But please, by all means, let's come up with an excuse _not _to go back to those horny teenagers for a while."

"Beacon…?" Penelope rubbed her chin as her digital face showed an expression of deep thought. "I think I _remember _a school named Beacon. I think… I think the man with a mustache mentioned it a few times."

"Oh, no!" Ruby whispered to her girlfriend. "Weiss! If Penny remembers things too quickly, she could get really hurt! We need to distract her!"

Just then, Weiss' scroll rang; it was Pyrrha. Weiss answered the call and spoke as loudly as she could. "Oh, hello, Pyrrha!" She said, earning Penelope's attention. She put her scroll on speaker for everyone to hear. "Did you arrive at Beacon safely?"

"Uh, yes!" Pyrrha replied. "I'm fine!"

"Pyrrha? Is everything okay? It sounds _choppy."_

"Oh, sorry about that!" Pyrrha apologized. "The reception here isn't working very well, so we had to use one of Beacon's radios! But it hasn't been working well either. I've been trying to fix it myself, but it's been _murder. _So, when are you guys coming back?"

"Not long from now, Pyrrha." Ruby smiled as she looked at Penelope. "Oh, tell Team CFVY I've got a _surprise _for them!"

"Uh, okay! See you guys later!" With that, Pyrrha ended the call.

"Alright. That's _that." _Yang shrugged.

"Team CFVY and Ciel are dead - or at least very nearly so - and Pyrrha's being held hostage by Qrow and Cinder." Raven corrected.

"What?" Yang blinked in surprise at such a wild declaration. "Mom, how could you _possibly _know that?"

"Simple…" Raven cracked her knuckles as she elaborated. "In the first place, while I don't speak _French, _I _do _understand the natural language of _habits. _Pyrrha said that the radio wasn't working properly. When has _Ciel _ever allowed anything to fall into disrepair?"

"... huh." Ruby's brow furrowed as she considered the facts. "That _does _make sense."

"And _secondly; _my watch is still set on _Vale's _timezone, and it says it's _6:30 P.M. _Which we all, unfortunately, know is…"

"Team CFVY's daily _food play _time!" Weiss gasped.

"Right!" Raven nodded. "I didn't hear any _whipped cream _being sprayed or _chocolate sauce bottles _being squeezed. Next, Pyrrha distinctly described trying to fix the radio _herself _as 'murder.' And as we _all _know, a _murder _is the literary term for a flock of… _crows!"_

"We do?" Jaune asked before clearing his throat. "Uh, I mean, _yeah! _We _do!"_

"And lastly, who does _Qrow _know who is better than _anyone _at murdering people? Cinder!"

"Oh, my gods! We have to go save Pyrrha!" Jaune demanded.

"Relax, Vomit boy." Raven unsheathed her katana with a confident grin. "I've got a _plan. _Do _exactly _as I say, and we'll save Pyrrha and Jean, _no sweat."_

"Wait, _Jean?" _Yang scratched her head. "How'd you know _Jean _was there?"

"Oh, _come on, _Yang." Raven scoffed as if the answer was obvious. "I'm not going to insult your intelligence by explaining _everything _to you."

"Uh… right."

Back at Beacon, Qrow blasted the radio to pieces once the message was over. "Was that really necessary?" Pyrrha shuddered.

"Shut up." Qrow snapped. "Cinder, go down to the basement and see if we can find the last Summer Maiden fragment in Ozpin's files. And maybe there's some records of the _Winter Maiden."_

"Wait, so all those A.I. fragments were actually pieces of _Penny?" _Jean looked back at Pyrrha with an amused smile. "Hey, Pyrrha? Remember that one who was inside _my head _for a while?" Without warning, the Meta grabbed Jean by the neck and hoisted her into the air. "Ah! What'd I say?!"

"What are you _doing?!" _Pyrrha shrieked, feeling helpless.

"Shut up!" Qrow snapped again before aiming Harbinger at the medical student's face. "You bonded to a fragment of the Summer Maiden? Which one?"

"Uh, I-I-I-I don't know!" Jean choked. "T-the _mean _one! _Paulette!"_

Cinder growled, bitterly, and dropped Jean to the ground. Qrow put away his weapon with an equally disappointed grunt. "Well, she's _accounted _for." Just then, the former Guardsman spotted a familiar raven landing just outside the school's campus. "Cinder, I'll be _back."_

The Meta grunted as she watched Qrow march away to deal with the trespasser. With their captor distracted, Pyrrha leaned over to Jean. "Hey, Jean… does your medical tool have a _defibrillator _function?"

"What? Yeah, why?"

"Because I think we have a chance to _escape." _Pyrrha smiled. "I can rewire it to _overload _and give the Meta a little _jolt."_

Meanwhile, just as Qrow expected, Raven was trying to sneak along the school's safety walls. "Hold it right there, Rae." He warned. "You must be losing your _touch. _You're not as _sneaky _as you used to be."

"Age gets the best of us _all, _Qrow." Raven sneered. "How could you do this to _Ruby? _And what would _Summer _and _Tai _say if they saw you now?"

"Don't judge _me!" _Qrow snapped. "Especially when _you've _been such a shitty parent to your own kid! Spring Maiden or not, it doesn't excuse you for _abandoning _your own family! Now, are you going to _cooperate, _or am I going to have to get _the Meta _to come put you in your place?"

"What? The Meta's here, too?" Raven asked, feigning ignorance.

"That's right." Qrow smirked. "And she's looking forward to _repaying _you for all the trouble you've caused her."

"I seem to recall _you _giving her some trouble, yourself."

"Things have _changed. _I struck a _deal. _Now, give me your weapons." Qrow held out his free hand while the other continued to grip Harbinger.

Raven sighed as she handed over her prized weapon, Omen. "Just so you know, I'm gonna get that _back."_

"I said _all _of your weapons." Qrow repeated, firmly, looking at his sister's scabbard.

"_All _of my weapons?" Raven asked, trying to buy more time. "Maybe I could just hold on to the scabbard. After all, dust is no good on its own most of the time."

"Hand it over. _Now."_

"Well, that's what people _say." _Raven muttered, handing it over to him.

With his twin completely disarmed, Qrow lightly poked her in the belly with Harbinger. "Now, get _moving. _I still have a lot of work to get done, but I'm _not _letting you out of my sight. You're coming _with _us."

"Qrow…" Raven's eyes narrowed, menacingly. "I don't have the Spring Maiden's powers anymore. So you can _insult _me, you can _ambush _me, you can even judge my ability as a _parent, _but if you think for _one second _that I'm going anywhere near that _monster _without my _KATANA, _then you must not know who you're dealing with!"

"I said _move!" _Qrow repeated, poking her again.

Raven's eyes darted over to the wall before looking back at her brother. A few nervous beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. "Uh… and _I _said _KATANA!"_

Qrow was bemused. "Yes. I have your katana."

"N-no, _no! KATANA!"_

"What _is _this? You think I'm gonna give you your katana if you _ask?"_

"I said _KATANA!" _Dropping the act, entirely, Raven stamped her foot and turned to the wall, angrily. _"KATANA, dammit!"_

"Oh, right! 'Katana!' That's our cue!" A muffled voice said behind the wall.

"Wait… what're you _up _to?" Qrow suspiciously turned his attention towards the same spot on the wall Raven had been speaking to. Suddenly, he heard a low rumbling noise that was growing louder and louder. "What's that noise? Do I hear a…"

Raven managed to duck out of the way just in time. Ren drove the Warthog through the wall with Nora manning the minigun turret and Jaune riding shotgun. Qrow was frozen in place as his entire world seemed to slow down. As the grill got closer to his face, he finally managed to utter a single word. "CAAAAAAAR?!"

The Warthog hit the huntsman dead on, but Ren didn't let up. Thinking that he had run his enemy over, he dared to lean over the side. "How's my _bumper _taste, asshole?!" He mocked. But his excitement quickly disappeared once he saw Qrow climbing off of the grill and onto the hood of the vehicle. "Uh, oh!" He squeaked.

Qrow managed to fire off a few shots, but Team JNPR managed to dodge the blasts. Ren finally found the brakes and sent the former Guardsman flying through the air, causing him to lose his grip on Harbinger. Reaching for Omen, he flew past Raven who grabbed the weapon away from him with a smug smile. "See? I told you I'd get it back."

Ren slowly drove up to the tribe woman and invited her aboard. "How about next time we choose a _code word, _we pick something _less _obvious?"

"Just _drive, _numbnuts."

Qrow landed in a stack of oil barrels, much to his shock. Even worse, the Warthog drove up, and Raven unsheathed a fire dust blade. "Eat _shit, _Qrow!" With a slash of Omen, the oil barrels exploded.

Said explosion drew the attention of Cinder, giving Pyrrha and Jean the opportunity they were looking for. "Okay, Jean! She's distracted, now fire!"

"Uh, why can't _you _do it?" Jean asked, nervously.

In that moment of hesitation, Cinder turned around and growled in fury. Jean was frozen in place while Pyrrha fearfully backed away. "Oh, shit! The plan's _ruined! Improvise! Improvise!"_

**To Be Continued.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Jean closed her eyes in fear as the Meta charged at her. Luckily, she managed to pull the trigger on her device, activating the augmented defibrillator just before her attacker could touch her. A powerful surge of electricity struck Cinder in the chest, sending her flying into a titanium wall. Jean briefly looked up to see the Meta nearly frozen in place as she tried to punch the medic. "Uh… what's going on?" Jean asked.

"I think you shorted out the time-distortion device in her armor!" Pyrrha chuckled. "Now it's _malfunctioning!"_

"Ha! Score one for the _pacifist!" _Jean cheered as she taunted the Meta. "How do ya like me, _now, _Cinder?!"

"Uh, Jean? I wouldn't get too close to her if I were you." Pyrrha warned.

"Why?" Jean chortled as Cinder's fist slowly got closer. "What's she gonna do? Beat me up over the course of _two weeks?"_

"Well, technically, she's not actually _moving _slow, it just _looks _slow to _us."_

"What?"

"It's _relativistics. _She's still moving at the same speed, just over a _longer period _of time. So her punch should still carry the same amount of _force, _we just _perceive _it at a much slower rate."

"... no. It's _slow, _see?" Jean pointed at the Meta just as her knuckle touched the medic's cheek. "AAAAAAAAAH!" Jean flew through the air and smashed into the wall, stuck there.

"See?" Pyrrha sighed, tiredly. "That's what you get for arguing with _science."_

"Ah! Pyrrha, help!" Jean cried. "I'm stuck in this metal wall! Use your semblance!"

"Okay, just hang on!" Pyrrha focused on the metal in the wall, only to hit a snag. "Darn it! It's _titanium! _I can't use my semblance! I'm gonna have to _pull _you out!" She approached the medic and slowly began trying to figure out how best to free her. "Okay, uh… let's see… if I… maybe I can…"

"Ow, ow, ow!" Jean whined. "Pyrrha, pull me from my _center! _Ow, my _groin!"_

Just then, the effects of the time-distortion device were beginning to wear off. "Oh no, you _don't!"_ Ruby declared, running over upon noticing that Cinder was approaching her two friends...only to stop in her tracks as a flashbang went off. "Agh, my eyes!"

"...are no threat to me now that you can't use them," Cinder declared before knocking the hooded huntress to the ground.

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled out, running up to protect her girlfriend, not noticing a Glyph forming above her as she did.

"Oh, _please,"_ the Meta said with a roll of her eyes as she moved to intercept the Schnee heiress' sword strike...only to find herself being thrown through the same wall that Jean had gotten stuck in due to the blade she was blocking being a lot larger than anticipated. "What?!"

Weiss blinked as she viewed the Arma Gigas - or at least the arm of said potential summon, complete with sword - floating beside her, before gaining what seemed to be the combination of a smug grin and a determined glare, even as Pyrrha used the opportunity the heiress had given her to free Jean from her confinement. "Ruby's not the _only_ one with tricks up her sleeve. True, I haven't _mastered_ all of mine just yet, but you can be certain that I'll be using _all_ of my strength to protect her and all of my loved ones."

"Then you can forgive me for doing everything in _my_ power to complete the mission." That was all the warning Weiss got before she received a few well placed gunshots that made her lose her concentration on her partial summon causing it to fail.

"I used to work with your _sister,_ Weiss," Qrow declared even as he aimed Harbinger - currently in gun-mode - at the young heiress. "You _really_ think I wouldn't have picked up on the strengths and weaknesses of your family's Semblance by now?"

"You're Ruby's Uncle, alright: you have the same analytical mind and pragmatic fighting style," Weiss remarked, even as she got back up with a snarl. "Such a shame I can't say the same of her noble heart and undying loyalty, traitor."

"Sticks and stones, Ice Princess." Qrow scoffed as he reloaded Harbinger. "Sticks and stones."

"Get _away _from them!" Qrow turned around just in time to receive an explosive punch in the face. Taiyang knocked Qrow to the ground and kicked his sword away before turning to the kids. "Get out of here! _Go!"_

Weiss grabbed Ruby and carried her away as Taiyang clenched his fists and cocked his own gauntlets. Qrow sumersalted away from another blast of fire dust, and kicked a patch of dirt into his former teammate's face. Taiyang tried to fire again, but his gauntlets jammed. The brawler growled, bitterly; he knew his old partner's semblance was responsible for it. Loosening the straps, he tossed both gauntlets at Qrow as a distraction before charging. Qrow may have dodged the weapons, but soon had the wind knocked out of him when Taiyang tackled him. But with his semblance, it took little effort to push his enemy off of him. Once the tables were turned, Qrow wasted no time in pounding in Taiyang's face.

"Take _that! _You _sister-fucking _piece of _shit!" _Qrow shouted as another punch broke Taiyang's nose. Dazed, the brawler was now at the scythe-master's mercy.

"Wait! Wait…" Taiyang held up a hand as his breaths weakened. "Qrow… I just wanted to say… I fucked your sister _again, _last night."

Qrow's glare hardened as he leaned down, slightly. "Is that _right?" _He growled; his rage increasing as Taiyang's smile widened.

"Yeah…" Taiyang chortled, wiping the blood from his lip. "Don't get me _wrong; _Summer was _great… _but I've never known any other woman who can swallow _thirteen inches _like Raven Branwen."

Qrow just backhanded his old teammate, a snarl on his face. "You never _did_ know when to shut up."

"At least I know where my loyalties lie," was Taiyang's immediate reply, gesturing to his haggard companions. "After all, _I'm_ not the one responsible for all this carnage."

Suddenly, a blast of ice dust separated the two huntsmen. Weiss, Ruby, and Team CFVY had returned to rescue Taiyang.

"I didn't want it to come to this," Qrow said with a sigh even as everyone - exhausted as some of them might have been - readied themselves for the next round, "but it's over now, because nobody is coming to save you guys."

"Well, just call me 'Nobody', then."

Qrow yelled out in pain as he and Cinder were thrown back due to a few well placed grenades, quickly turning towards the source of the surprise attack soon afterwards. "What are you…?!"

"Oh, come now, _Qrow: you_ of all people should know by now that I'd _never_ take orders from one of Jacques Schnee's lapdogs," a femine voice declared as she stepped into view.

"What the…? Summer?!" Taiyang yelled out as he took in the source of the voice.

"I'll explain everything later, Tai," the woman declared, using some smoke bombs to cover their escape. "But right now, we need to make a break for the teleporter, _NOW!"_ Everyone else just nodded as they followed her. Summer Rose or not, she was clearly trying to help them, so they'd trust her for the time being.

Sometime later, Raven, currently inside an old base, waited for everyone else to arrive through the teleporter, nervously tapping her foot as she did. "Just calm down, Raven: they'll be here soon." She shook her head in disgust. "Still can't believe that _Qrow_ of all people is trying to have Yang and Ruby killed." Needless to say, however, she couldn't help but give a sigh of relief as Team CFVY arrived with Ciel and Jean, as that meant only one thing. "Okay, good: the teleporter's working."

Velvet smiled. "Turns out all that time scrambling the White Fang's coms systems was well spent." She sighed as Team JNPR, the woman who looked like Summer, and Taiyang arrived through the teleporter. "Bad news is that we'll have to destroy this thing once everyone is through: can't risk Qrow or Cinder following us through."

The woman who looked like Summer nodded even as Penelope exited the teleporter. "Way ahead of you," she declared as she went about setting some explosives on said teleporter.

Weiss, having arrived with Ruby and Blake, couldn't help but shake her head. "Show of hands: how many of us saw this coming?" She gave a bitter nod when nobody raised their hands. "Yeah, that's what I was afraid of…"

Ruby simply gulped. "I...I'm sure there's a reason why Uncle Qrow's gone crazy and is trying to kill us." She blinked as everyone turned towards her, before giving a sigh. "Yeah, I know, but I'm trying to stay positive here!"

The woman who looked like Summer quickly gave the young girl a hug. "I know this isn't easy, sweetie, but we'll pull through this: we always do. Right, Fire Lily?" She blinked, before giving a panicked frown. "Fire Lily? Yang?!"

Yang, having finally popped out of the teleporter covered in some sort of yellow stuff, couldn't help but groan. "Ow!" She sighed. "Sorry I'm late: took a little longer to lose Mr. Branwen then I thought it would."

Jaune just sighed in relief. "I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we're just glad you're okay."

Yatsuhashi quirked an eyebrow. "He's right, though quick question: what's all that yellow stuff on your armor?"

Yang quickly looked around, and groaned. "Just me? What the heck?!"

"Forget the yellow stuff," Raven declared. "I didn't say anything because of the danger, but how are you here, Summer? You were…"

"Killed?" Summer asked with a bittersweet smile even as she went about destroying the teleporter. "Yes, I _was… before_ Ozpin cast that spell of his that ended the Maiden's cycle of rebirth." She shook her head in disgust. "Jacques performed a taboo: between his technology and the experiments being run on Aura augmentation, he somehow managed to tie my very essence to that of the Spring Maiden and left a permanent command in my system that ensured that his robot chassises would be the last thing on my mind whenever I expired. I'm just glad Oz managed to render that last part obsolete."

"So, you're…" Penelope couldn't seem to get her words out.

"Another of the Maiden fragments? Unfortunately yes," Summer declared, giving a sigh. "The _real_ Summer Rose is still trapped somewhere, and here I am, doing my best to uphold her legacy...and not doing a very good job of it at that."

Yang just brought the woman into a hug. "You might not be Summer Rose, not really, but you've done a good job of upholding her beliefs regardless… _Mom."_

Summer couldn't help but let out a tear of joy at those words despite feeling some disgust on account of the yellow stuff clinging to the blonde brawler's body. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that… though maybe we should hold off on the hugs until _after_ you're cleaned up, you know?"

"I'll help out with _that,"_ Blake said with a saucy wink even as Yang gave a smile that was equal parts sheepish and aroused.

Summer just shook her head in amusement as she watched as her daughter and daughter-in-law made their way towards the showers, before giving everyone else a stern expression. "Alright, everyone else: just because Cinder and my former teammate can't follow us through the teleporter doesn't mean we're out of the woods just yet, so keep your eyes peeled!"

Ren nodded alongside everyone else, ready and willing to make sure that they're safe, before turning to Nora. "You know, if someone came to me a few years back and told me that _this_ is what I'd be doing in the here and now, I'd accuse them of sounding too much like one of those conspiracy theorists."

Velvet, having overheard that statement, couldn't help but snort. "Well, he's not wrong." She then adopted a mock spooky tone. _"The government controls the Grimm."_

Nora smiled before also adopting a mock spooky tone. _"The Council can hear my thoughts."_

_"We never landed on the moon."_ was Coco's sarcastic inclusion.

Nora then gave a mock gasp. _"They put fluoride in my water!"_

Here, Ren couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow. "Actually, that one's true."

Nora merely blinked. "It is? No wonder I listen to so much pop music."

Meanwhile, Qrow and Cinder were busy interrogating a group of Doppelgangers. "Where did they _go?!" _Cinder growled.

Glass, a handmaid of Jasmine, spat inky blood in the Meta's face. "Wouldn't _you _like to know, shisno?"

Furious, the Meta snapped her captive's neck, breathing in the ashes of her fading body. Qrow held the tip of Harbinger under the quivering princess' neck. "Now, as you can see, my partner isn't quite as _patient _as I am. So, where's Yang's kid?"

"She's not _here." _Jasmine stammered. "The Savior has been escorted to a safe haven while her mother and father are away."

"Where _is _this safe haven?"

"I don't _know." _Jasmine promised. "I wouldn't let them tell me in case an event such as this ever happened."

"Dammit!" Qrow cursed. "Alright, Cinder. Let's go back to the school and see if we can pick up a trail. I don't wanna be here longer than we have to."

"What's the rush?" A bruised Doppelganger knight asked. "Just think of all the overtime you'll earn on your next check."

"What'd I say about _backtalk, _you - wait…" Qrow blinked. "You guys get _overtime?"_

"Yeah, her majesty takes _great _care of us." The Doppelganger smiled. "Time and a _half_ after forty hours. Time and a_ half and a half _on Sundays! Wait, you guys_ don't _get overtime? Tell me they _at least_ match your 401k."

"Uh… _no." _Cinder's brow furrowed.

"Aw, man, that sucks. You should _unionize!"_

"_Reflect."_ Another Doppelganger groaned. "Stop making _friends _with the _bad guys."_

"Sorry."

"Forget it, Branwen," Cinder declared. "We're not going to get any more help from these things."

"That's simply because you haven't been asking the right ones," Barmak declared as he entered the room, several of his followers close by.

"You're… Barmak, right?" Qrow asked, recognizing him from the info packs in his debriefing.

"Indeed I am," the traitorous Doppelganger declared, "and _you_ would be Qrow Branwen, alias Agent Grey. In any case, I might be able to help you locate your niece's daughter."

"What game are you playing, _Mirror?"_ Jasmine growled out. "You've made it clear that you had no intention of helping the humans back when you betrayed me."

"And I _still_ don't," her former advisor remarked, "but it just so happens that Cinder Fall over there has something in common with your goddaughter. After all, like 'Holly,' Agent Crimson also shares a touch of Grimm in her biology."

The Meta let out a chuckle as she revealed that her left arm did indeed carry some Grimm features. "And here I thought I'd done a good job of concealing it."

"To the uneducated, you _have,"_ Barmak reassured with something in his eyes _almost_ resembling respect. "But like you, I too have studied at the knees of the Dark One."

"Wait you worked with _Salem?!"_ Qrow directed at Cinder, his eyes wide with horror.

"Oh, don't act so high and mighty, Agent Grey," Agent Crimson said with a roll of her eyes. "You knew I worked for your enemy when you signed up to work with me: why should it matter now that you know exactly who that enemy was?"

Unable to come up with a good argument to that, and knowing the consequences of doing so, Qrow just shook his head. "Whatever: as long as it keeps me out of a prison cell."

"Take care, Uncle of the Great Destroyer," Jasmine declared before the man got too far. "If you continue to follow this path for too long, you stand to lose _a lot more_ than just your _freedom."_

"I've been _beaten, betrayed,_ and _blown up,_ on top of everything else that's happened since I got involved in all of this," Qrow said with a roll of his eyes. "Tell me, _your highness:_ what else do I have to lose at this point?"

"You might not like the answer when the time comes," Jasmine felt the need to declare.

Meanwhile, Yang watched as her mother tended to her father's injuries. The blonde brawler blinked as she saw Raven lean down to give Taiyang a soft kiss before finishing the last of his bandages. Once Raven was gone, Yang approached her father. "What the hell was _that?"_

Taiyang sighed, tiredly. "I guess it's better you hear from me, first. Your mother and I are… _dating _again."

"What?!" Yang gasped. "Why?!"

"Yang, you don't _understand. _She's _changed." _Taiyang explained. "It started after she told me about _Summer. _Or, uh, the Summer we _thought _was Summer. You should've _seen _the way she broke the news to me. She was so _strong _and _comforting. _And yet, so _sensitive _and so _vulnerable. _And then, we just started _talking _about Summer. And then about _us. _And talking turned to _reminiscing. _And then we… we _kissed. _And we both decided to give our relationship another _shot."_

"Dad, she had just told you that the woman you loved wasn't _real." _Yang reasoned. _"You _were the one who was sensitive and vulnerable!"

"Yang, I'm not asking for your _permission." _Taiyang replied, sternly. "I _love _Raven. I want to _be _with her. And I have many _other _things I want to say, but it'll have to wait because I'm nursing a _pounding headache." _With that, Team STRQ's brawler closed his eyes to get some rest.

"I didn't say I _disapproved."_ Yang declared, causing her father to sit back up in shock. "Believe me: I'd like _nothing more_ then to see our family whole again, and if the _real_ Summer is anything like _robo-Summer,_ then _she_ isn't averse to _sharing,_ but why is it that I'm just finding out about this _now?"_

"I...well…" Needless to say, Taiyang didn't have a response ready, prompting Yang to give a huff and storm out of the room.

"I'll be sure to ask Raven the same question, but in the meantime, let me know when _you_ want to start _acting_ like a member of the family," Yang called out, causing Taiyang to look down in shame.

At the other end of the building, Ruby was making some minor adjustments to Penelope's temporary body. Since they were uncertain how long it would be before they could give her a body similar to Penny's old one, the hooded huntress wanted to make sure her current body was durable enough to withstand the test of time.

"There!" She smiled. "Now you shouldn't blow a fuse when you shoot lightning!"

"Thank you, friend Ruby!" Penelope's digital face beamed. "I can't wait to learn more about my mother from you and your relationship with her. I want to know what _love _is! I want you to _show _me!"

"Everyone, out of the building!" Raven's voice boomed. "I've got Taiyang. Everyone else, get out! This is _not _a drill!"

"What's going on?" Ruby asked.

Weiss ran into the room with a startled expression. "It's Qrow and the Meta! They _found us, _somehow!"

"What?!" Ruby grabbed Penelope's wrist and dragged her out of the room. "Come on, Penelope! We have to move!"

Soon enough, the group had evacuated the building but they needed to give themselves a chance to trap their pursuers inside to give them time to escape. Raven was too tired to use her semblance, but thankfully, she got an idea. "Quick!" She shouted. "Somebody say something to make Penny angry!"

"Uh, _okay!" _Ruby stammered. "Uh… you, uh… _you don't have lips! _And, uh… you can't give kisses!"

Weiss facepalmed before addressing the green Atlesian Knight. "Well? Feel angry?"

"Not really. I just feel _sad."_ Penelope's digital face flashed an exaggerated teardrop under her eye. "Ruby's _right. _I _can't _give kisses."

"Oh, gods, I'm a _monster!" _Ruby cried, hugging and kissing the Maiden's memory. "Please forgive me!"

"Oh, shit! They're coming!" Raven shouted. "Hurry up! Get her mad!"

"_Who's_ coming?" Penelope asked, curiously, looking through the hole in the wall. "Some kind of angry red woman and -"

"Stop them!" Qrow ordered. "Don't let them get away!"

"AGENT GRAY!" Penelope's eyes flashed from green to red as a lightning bolt shot from her hands and striking the wall. The rubble filled in the hole, preventing the villains from catching up. Penelope's eyes flickered back to their usual green hue as she gasped. "Oh, dear! I've broken the nice house!"

"Forget it! Let's go!" Raven ordered.

"Wait! Where's _Jean?" _Velvet asked.

"There's no time! Come _on!"_

Back inside, the poor medical student was being held hostage by Qrow and the Meta. "Uh… h-hey, guys… no hard feelings, right?" Jean couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, no. No hard feelings at _all." _Qrow smirked, sinisterly. "But, uh, what do you say we have a little _chat?"_

Meanwhile, Team RWBY and the others were back to running in the caves when they spotted a familiar Doppelganger beckoning them to follow. Reluctantly, they arrived at a safe cavern deep within the mountain.

"You guys will be safe here," Alex declared as he and a young boy helped the group to set up camp.

Said young boy did a double take as he glanced at Ruby. "Whoa. You...have silver eyes."

Ruby blinked, having heard those words before. "Professor...Ozpin?"

The boy gave a dry chuckle. "I _do_ have a bit of a resemblance to him, don't I? I can't help but wonder if I'd reincarnate as him if given the chance...but no: I'm just a simple farm boy who saw the chance to help his fellow man and took it. My name is Oscar Pine, and I do hope we can get along."

Yang just patted her sister on the back. "Ozymandias _did_ say that he'd likely still exist in some fashion if we changed the future." Needless to say, nobody knew how to react to that statement.

**To be continued**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

"One jump ahead of the rogue Guardsman, one step ahead of President Schnee, those chumps will never get the better of me~"

Blake couldn't help but chuckle even as Alex continued to sing a little ditty to himself as he and Oscar helped her friends to set up camp "So, you're Alex, right? Jasmine told us a lot about you. Sorry to cause you so much trouble, by the way."

The benevolent Doppelganger merely let out a snort in reply. "It's only trouble if the bad guys catch you, am I right?"

"Oh, I like this guy's style," Yang couldn't help but admit. "Still, I hate that we have to hide in a _cave, _again. I mean, I can't see _anything!"_

"Oh, no!" Fox cried, sarcastically. "What a _nightmare!"_

"Sorry…" Yang replied, meekly.

"Alright, listen up, everyone." Ruby suddenly announced. "Aunt Raven has volunteered to use her semblance to take us to our homes and collect essentials for our time on the run! So make a list of everything we need!"

"Oh!" Ciel raised her hand, enthusiastically. "I have a _fondue pot _suitable for chocolates _and _cheeses!"

Ruby blinked. "What do we need _that _for?"

"Uh, well…" Ciel blushed, lightly, as she drew circles on the ground with her foot. "It's just that it was a little _pricey, _and I haven't really used it as much as I _thought _I would, and, uh…" The French girl pulled her hat over her eyes in a futile attempt to hide her embarrassment. "..._nevermind."_

"Oh, that actually reminds me," Summer declared as she brought some cooking gear. "I realize that this isn't entirely accurate, but Yang: do you feel like helping your mother cook up some dinner? For old times sake?"

"...I call dough punching duty!"

"Uh, doesn't she mean dough _rolling?"_ Jaune couldn't help but ask.

"Nope." Ruby said with a smile and a shake of her head. "I don't remember a whole lot from when Summer, the _original_ Summer, was around, but one thing I _do_ remember is that whenever Yang helped Mom out with cooking, it always seemed like there was video game boss music playing in the background."

"Speaking of mothers, Tai said something about you wanting to speak with me?" Raven piped up.

Realizing what she was referring to, Yang could only look at the ground in a bit of shame. "So, do you… _love _him?" she asked, feeling a bit uncomfortably.

"Well, I mean…" Raven scratched her head, trying to find the right words. "I haven't actually said _'I love you' _to him. But, uh, _yeah. _I love him, still."

"Then why didn't you _tell _me?!"

"Because you never _asked!" _Raven replied. "I mean, I get it! You have a wife and kid of your _own _now, but it always feels like if what I have to say isn't an apology for not being there, _you're not interested!"_

"Th-that… that's not _true." _Yang stammered.

"Yang, we weren't even trying that hard to _hide _it!" Raven spluttered. "I mean, your dad and I kept taking _'long walks' _in the forest, and we'd come back with _wrinkles _and _grass stains _on our clothes, _leaves _in our _hair. _You didn't think that was the _least bit _suspicious?"

"You _seriously _didn't _know, _Xiao Long?" Coco tilted her glasses down before turning to the others in amusement. "Show of hands for everyone who _knew _about Phoenix." Sure enough, Teams JNPR, CFVY, Ciel, Weiss, Blake, and even _Ruby _raised their hands. Coco smirked as Yang's mouth dropped open. _"Bingo."_

Raven just patted her daughter on the shoulder. "If it makes you _feel _any better, your dad was pretty oblivious when _he _was your age." The Branwen chieftess sighed fondly. "Ah, _that _takes me back."

_Raven would never admit it to her fellow Beacon students, especially not Qrow, but she was nervous. She had recently confided in her twin brother and best friend that she had developed a crush on a certain blonde brawler, but didn't know how to properly express it. After a few eyerolls from Qrow and some obnoxious squeals from Summer, Raven decided to take it up with the other women back in her tribe._

"_This boy you're interested in?" Ebony smiled as she handed her friend a bowl of fresh chili following a brief explanation. "He'll _come around. _You just gotta hang in there."_

"_You really _think _so?" Raven asked, sitting next to her, Jade, and Olive around a small campfire, the latter two having _also_ been filled in._

"_Oh, yeah!"_

"_For sure!"_

"_You're a catch!"_

"_I don't _know." _Raven sighed, stirring her food. "I think I might've _scared him off. _I'm probably not _good enough _for him."_

"_Hey! Don't talk like that!" Jade scolded, gently shoving her friend's shoulder. "You've got _a lot _to offer a man!"_

"_Yeah!" Olive agreed. "You're _smart. Beautiful. Strong._ Not to _mention _that you're next in line to run the _tribe!"

_Raven chuckled. "You guys are _great."

"_Maybe you just need to make the _first move."_ Ebony suggested. "Try the _'thigh touch.'"

"_The… the _what?"

"_You've never heard of the _'thigh touch?'"

"_Psh, of _course _I have." Raven scoffed. "But, uh… tell me, _anyway."

_Ebony shook her head, humorously, and scooted closer to her younger friend. She set her bowl aside and looked deeply into Raven's eyes. "Okay, the next time you see this _'Taiyang' _you're so fond of, sit down next to him and be like…" The dark-skinned woman gently rested her hand on Raven's thigh and batted her eyelashes, seductively. "Hey.~"_

_Raven laughed. "Seriously, Ebony?"_

"_I'm _telling _you, girl; it's _science." _Ebony insisted. "Boys go _ga-ga _for that shit."_

"_Alright." Raven shrugged. _"You're _the expert."_

"When I came back, I threw a few...dozen hints in his direction before saying that I planned on asking a certain someone to the dance a few weeks later." Raven revealed.

"You should have _heard_ how loudly she screamed in frustration that night," Summer said with a chuckle, her mental origin having been there that night. "And all Tai said in reply was 'Was it something I said?'"

Yang simply snorted in amusement before giving a sigh, knowing where Raven was going with this. "Look, like I told Dad, I'm not _against_ you two getting back together. I guess part of me just thought that I'd have to wait until _after_ we had found the _real_ Summer to have to worry about walking in on parents making out in front of me. Just promise that once we _do_ find her that she'll still have a place besides you two: she's my Mom too, you know."

"I know," Raven declared with a sigh as she brought her daughter into an embrace, "and for the record, she was special to me too."

Ruby just smiled as she watched the bout of family bonding, before gaining a frown. "Huh: my Aunt is dating my Dad. Not sure what to make of that."

"That you might be a Redneck?" Taiyang declared having since re-entered the room.

"Considering that Summer, Raven, and I all have 'ammo' on our holiday shopping list, that might not be too far off." Yang said with a shrug.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Can we _please _focus? We may have temporarily lost them, but Qrow and the Meta could catch up to us now that they have _Jean. _They're probably _interrogating _her as we speak. As far as we know, they know _everywhere _we could run to."

"Indeed. Now, I understand why Rachael - uh, I mean _Svetlana _didn't tell us where she and Mikhail were setting up _'New Rushland.'" _Ciel mused. "Qrow and the Meta won't be able to _find _them. Still… I hope they're doing alright.

Meanwhile, Svetlana sneezed as she and her husband had successfully finished defending their farm from a horde of wild Ursas. The scarlet clad couple holstered their weapons and returned to their work. "Is it _me, _my love, or are those things getting _smarter?" _Mikhail asked.

"Seems like it, my darling. In fact, my old friend _Jean _made the point that one day a Grimm may _outsmart _me." She chuckled as she reloaded. "That may be _so. _But I have yet to meet _anything _that can outsmart _bullets."_

Mikhail gained a serious expression. "Speaking of your old friends, I caught you nearly going for your weapon upon hearing the news about those rogue huntsmen at Beacon."

"Can you blame me?!" Svetlana said with a groan. "Ruby and Weiss were nearly executed simply for trying to help reopen their old school. To make matters worse, there hasn't been any confirmation that they or the others are even alive after...well, everything."

Mikhail simply patted his wife on the back, knowing full well why this was bothering her so much. "...what happened then wasn't your fault, you know," he remarked, even as he once again vowed to disembowel that clown if he ever saw him again.

"I know," "Rachael" said with a sniffle, "but if they died and I hadn't been around to protect them, this would be. I know I said I wanted a simple life, but in the end, Coco was right: I can't walk away from being a huntress."

"I wasn't going to ask you to." Mikhail said with a grin. "In fact, I was hoping I could come with you. After all, I cannot form _New Rushland _by myself."

Svetlana simply smiled as she kissed her husband on the lips. "Have I mentioned how much I love you lately?"

"You could stand to mention it more." Mikhail replied with a teasing smirk. "But if we are to rejoin your friends, we will need to bring a _gift!"_

Svetlana arched an eyebrow as her husband rushed back into their home. Only to smile as he came back with a bottle and glasses. "Is that your _father's _recipe?!" She laughed. "The one that saved him from a scorpion faunus' venom?!"

"The very same!" He laughed, pouring them a pair of glasses. "A _toast _before we head off! May we get what we _want!"_

"And may we get what we _need!" _She added.

"But may we _never _get what we _deserve!" _They both toasted and downed the strong liquid fire.

Meanwhile, back with Team RWBY and the others, things had been going rather smoothly, though they all held their breath, as they knew it wouldn't last. Case in point, one little farm boy had been quite the busy bee. "You guys need any more help with anything?" one Oscar Pine asked of the hooded huntress.

Ruby couldn't help but giggle: this boy truly _would_ have been the next Oz-mosis candidate, as she had taken to calling it. A desire to help, a healthy respect for the supernatural - judging by the way he acted around Alex or approached the subject of Holly, that is - and, if that bit where she had caught him feeding a bunch of ducklings that had wondered past was any indication, a deep, deep love of children. It's no wonder Salem had fallen in love with Ozma in the past: this kid was a real heart-throb. Heck, if she didn't already have Weiss and/or Penny/Penelope in her life, she wouldn't have been too opposed to giving fate a chance and seeing if that obvious crush on her she had picked up on would go anywhere.

With that said... "I think we're good for now, though if you don't mind me asking, how did you wind up working with Alex?"

Oscar simply sighed. "Let's just say that Beacon wasn't the only place Jacques Schnee targeted nor were you the first to make the mistake of thinking I had a connection with the late Professor Ozpin. Only difference between you and the people who came after me is that you actually gave me a choice about whether I wanted a part in whatever it was that they were planning. Didn't save my aunt, though."

Ruby gasped, instantly understanding why the former farm boy would be unopposed to working with Alex and the other Doppelgangers: the enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all. "I...I'm so sorry. I wish there was something we could've done."

"You already are," Oscar reassured with a smile. "You and your friends are reassuring me that humanity is still worth defending."

"Glad we could help," Ruby declared, returning the smile, "though just for the record, I already _have_ a girlfriend."

"Uh, eheh, sorry," Oscar said with a sheepish grin.

"No, no, it's fine." The silver-eyed girl said with a reassuring gesture. "I'm actually kind of flattered. Just don't let Weiss catch you staring at me."

"Um, Ruby?" Yang called. "Penelope's _doing _something!"

Ruby rushed towards the sound of her sister's voice, worried for her best friend. When she finally arrived, she could see that Penelope's eyes were flickering from their usual green hue to a much lighter color. She sat cross-legged in front of the group and smiled. "Salutations, Ruby Rose."

Ruby couldn't help but blink. "Pearl? Is that you?"

"Yes and no: I am merely Penelope's memory of her," Pearl declared. "But that's not important: I need you to listen, for my time is brief. Penelope is not in control right now. but she will be again, shortly."

Ruby scoffed. "And that's a bad thing because…?"

"It's not, not really," Pearl reassured the hooded huntress. "But the encounter with Agent Grey has jarred loose many of her memories. Penelope has not historically coped with these memories well...though that's understandable to a degree as not all of them are _hers."_

Coco quirked an eyebrow. "What's that mean?"

"You didn't think Summer Rose was the _only_ person whose mental patterns were copied during the P.E.N.N.Y. Project, did you?"

Weiss let out a gasp. "You mean…?"

"Yes: in an effort to try and better control what he perceived to be his daughter, Jacques Schnee had a surface level scan of _his_ mental patterns inserted into the central processor of one Penny Polendina," Pearl declared with a disgruntled frown. "Fortunately, Doctor Pietro Polendina would quickly discover this deliberate sabotage by President Schnee and went out of his way to rearrange the programming so that the influence of President Schnee's memories on the Summer Maiden's personality was minimalistic at best. Unfortunately, as Priscilla and to a lesser extent Paulette proved, it was still enough to steer some of us in the wrong direction. Still, even _they_ considered Pietro to be a _far_ better father to them then Jacques could _ever_ be."

"Preaching to the choir there," Weiss couldn't help but remark. "Still, if she...you remember things that Jacques did, that would mean we'd have an even easier time making sure that he faces justice for what he's done, wouldn't it?"

"Perhaps," Pearl said with a shrug, "though we fear that in the meantime that Penelope might pursue after certain memories in particular."

Jaune quirked an eyebrow. "When you say 'we', you're referring to yourself and the other Maiden fragments, right?"

"That is correct," Pearl said with a subdued smile. "Penelope may not yet be fully aware of our presence, but eventually she will be. We cannot hide forever."

"Why is that a bad thing?" Ruby couldn't help but ask. "Don't we _want_ her to get her memories back?"

"It's not so simple," Pearl declared. "She's begun to search her memories now, and she is clearly looking for something."

"Well you _did_ say memory is the key."

"Memory _is_ the key, Ruby Rose, but not everything that is locked is meant to be unlocked." Pearl said with a sad smile. "She is coming back now. I must leave before she discovers me."

Ruby shook her head in frustration. "But if she meets you again, then you can be sisters again. Isn't that what you want?"

"More than anything," Pearl admitted, "but unfortunately, I fear that _I_ may not be the memory she is looking for."

Just then, the pale blue eyes began to shift back to green. "Wait, what do you _mean?!" _Ruby stammered. "Pearl! What is Penelope trying to _remember?!"_

But it was too late, Penelope had regained control of her body. "Oh, hey, guys: when did _you_ get here?"

"You...really don't remember, do you?" Jaune couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, Jaune, we're _all_ aware of the irony of the Maiden's _Memory_ having _amnesia:_ we don't need to go over this again." Penelope said with a roll of her eyes, before blinking as if in realization. "Wait, 'go over this again.' Why does that…oh my gods! The base!"

Needless to say, Weiss was as confused as everyone else at this declaration. "Mind filling the rest of us in on your little 'eureka' moment?"

Penelope nodded, a wide grin on her face. "Thanks to Jaune's stupidity, I just remembered that Jacques had a base that he used to visit frequently just a few miles south of here. If we go there, we might be able to find some irrefutable evidence against him."

"Sounds like a bit of a stretch, but it beats sitting around her being insulted." Jaune said with a shrug.

Ruby, however, couldn't help but stare at Penelope in confusion and concern. While it wasn't a bad theory, she couldn't help but worry about what Pearl had said earlier. She wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this mission would end badly.

A few hours later, Ruby and Penelope found themselves standing in front of what appeared to be an abandoned military base with the Schnee Dust Company logo. "So how do we get _inside?" _Ruby asked.

"I'm… not _sure." _Penelope admitted, patting down the wall. "But maybe if I-" Suddenly, the android girl accidentally pressed a mechanism into the wall, triggering a panel to slide back and reveal a computer screen.

"This is a private facility. Visitors are not welcome. Please leave immediately. Or, we will be forced to take lethal measures, to ensure the safety of our property. You have thirty seconds to comply, or die. Have a nice day!"

Ruby couldn't help but blink. "Shelia? Is that you?"

"No. I am the Guardsman Logistics Operation Resolutions and Integrity Assurance. You may call me Gloria. It is a pleasure to meet you. You now have - fifteen - seconds to live."

Penelope couldn't help but cringe in response. "Whoa, okay: maybe we should come back when we have the proper clearance."

Gloria blinked, as if only now recognizing them. "Oh my, forgive me: I was not aware that President Schnee was sending someone over to inspect the facility."

Penelope looked around, before gesturing to herself. "Are you...talking about _me?"_

Gloria smiled. "Yes. President Schnee made it very clear to allow certain individuals access to his bases of operation in the event that he himself could not show up for various reasons. The bearers of the Summer Maiden Fragments were on the _top_ of that list, stating that he did not desire restricting access to his wife and daughters."

Penelope frowned upon hearing this news. "He gave me, Summer, and the other Summer Maiden fragments complete access to his facilities, likely out of some desire to show us off whenever he could. On one hand, that's good news for us. On the other, it makes me want to punch his face in even more."

Gloria seemed to wilt in shame. "I apologize if I upset you. Do you still wish to come in?"

Ruby shared a look with Penelope, before shrugging. "Eh, we have access, so we might as well use it. Don't worry too much, though, Lori: _you're_ not the one we're upset with."

Gloria merely blinked. "Lori?"

Ruby simply smiled. "Yeah: a nice girl like you deserves a name that's not an acronym, and since Lori is a shortened form of 'Gloria', I just thought that…"

"No, no, it's fine," "Lori" said with a smile. "I actually kind of like it."

"Great! So can we please come inside?"

"Of course!" Lori replied, cheerfully, as the doors opened. "Thank you for visiting and have a nice day!"

Meanwhile, Qrow had to begrudgingly give Jean a little credit: knocking herself out so that he and the Meta _couldn't_ interrogate her was actually a rather clever move on her part. It was just a shame that she couldn't… _wouldn't_ stay unconscious forever nor did he intend to let her just knock herself out again.

That wasn't to say that everyone was happy with the situation. Case in point, a certain someone felt the need to give him a piece of her mind. "I hope you realize how badly your plan is going off the rails: your former comrades are on the run, Summer has betrayed us, and we're still no closer to obtaining the Maiden fragment," Cinder growled out.

"I'm not worried about Ruby and company," Qrow remarked. "They're good, I'll admit it, but it's only a matter of time before they slip up and when that happens, it'll be the perfect time to take Penelope into our custody. As for Summer, yeah, she threw a monkey wrench into things, but whether she knows it or not, she's _also_ our best asset."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Agent Grey simply gave a rather… unsettling look in reply. "Let's just say that I recently learned that Jacques likes to be efficient."

As it turned out, Ruby and Penelope, having stumbled into a secure room that Gloria/Lori had opened up for them, were learning just how efficient Jacques liked to be. "Holy Shamoley: look at all the Pennys!" Ruby cried out.

Penelope could only nod in mute shock and agreement, looking upon all the empty shells that looked _exactly_ like the _original_ Penny Polendina. "This is...yeah, I'm not sure _what_ to call this."

"_I'll _tell you what we call this! We call this a _shopping mall _of _best friends!" _Ruby cheered and made her way to one of the empty bodies. "C'mon! I'll hook you up!"

"Okay." Penelope sat down next to the more life-like android as Ruby attached a transfer cable to the back of her head.

"This should only take about _half an hour." _Ruby promised as she began transferring her best friend's consciousness. While she waited for the transfer to complete, she decided to wander around the rest of the facility when an idea popped into her head. "Hey, Lori? What can you tell me about Agent Rose?"

"I'm sorry, did you say 'Activate Agent Rose?'"

"What? No, I said _tell _me about Agent Rose."

"Okay! Activating Agent Rose!" Lori announced as a series of titanium doors began sliding open. "Warning: the only remaining copy of Agent Rose's programming may have been corrupted by the Paulette fragment. Please, exercise caution."

"Uh, oh…" Ruby gulped as a loud banging noise suddenly echoed from the last door.

Just then, Team JNPR finally caught up to the hooded huntress. "Ruby? Is Penny okay? She's hooked up to something." Pyrrha asked.

"Uh… _yeah. _Penny's _fine." _Ruby gulped as she slowly backed away from the door. "But, uh, I-I'd get away from the _door _if I were you guys."

"Why?" Jaune asked. "What's the problem? And what's that _noise?"_

Jaune was answered when a fist punched through the door right next to his face. The huntsman in training jumped away from shock as he and his team drew their weapons. Ruby took that as her cue to run away and warn her own team. Just as she was gone, the door was finally broken down, and another Summer Rose walked out from the other room, cracking her mechanical knuckles.

"You have _no idea _how much trouble you're in."

**To Be Continued.**

**Epilogue:**

Svetlana and Mikhail sat patiently at the airport for their transport to arrive. "How do you know this person?" She asked, curiously.

"Martin Noir? He's a _zebra faunus _I used to work with." He explained. "He's been giving people _plane rides _for a living, but since he owes me a _favor, _he agreed to give us a ride for _free."_

As grateful as she was, it didn't ease Svetlana's anxiety. "I just hope we make it in _time. _My friends are _good _at attracting trouble."

"I'm sure they'll be _fine." _Mikhail promised. "After all, what's the worst that could happen?"


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

"Whoa! What's Ruby's _mom _doing here?!" Pyrrha stammered. "And why is she looking at us like that?!"

"I don't think it's her, not really," Jaune said with a gulp as "Summer" approached them. "You guys remember how she mentioned that Jacques had somehow managed to bind her portion of the Summer Maiden to his robots? From what Ruby has told me, Weiss is always making sure that her teammates have plenty of Dust with them when they go out on missions: how much do you want to bet that her sorry excuse for a father was the same way with Robo-Summer's body? And that not _all_ of the spare bodies had _our_ Summer's natural sense of rebellion against President Schnee?"

"That...makes a scary amount of sense," Nora said, her face a strange mixture of disgust and horror at how _perverse,_ to borrow Yang's terminology when referencing Barmak's connection to Holly, Weiss' genetic donor was.

From the way Ren nodded, he felt the same and was once more grateful that Weiss wasn't anything like "Jackass," though still he gestured to the approaching "Summer" with a frightened look to remind everyone that they had _other_ problems right now. "So, uh, what's the plan now, Jaune?"

"The same plan we use _every_ time we find ourselves in over our heads," their leader said with a gulp. "RUN!"

Back at the improvised base, Summer quirked an amused eyebrow as Raven came out of the bedroom she and Taiyang had been sharing. "Enjoy yourself?" she asked with a teasing grin, nodding to the messy way her friend was currently dressed.

Raven snorted. "Are you kidding me? Summer Rose or not, I have to thank you for helping us rekindle our spark a while back." She then frowned. "Actually, that reminds me: did you…?"

"Love him?" Robo-Summer asked with a sigh. "Not in the way you're implying. Not in the way the _real_ Summer did. I respect him, and I can understand what my mental origin saw in him, but that's arguably one of the worst parts about having her memories: I can recall all the reasons that I _should_ be able to love him, but thanks in no small part to the tampering Jacques did to me, I can never _truly_ love him in the way that I _want_ to. Don't get me wrong, though: I _really_ enjoyed that night we shared."

Raven snorted. "Oh, yeah: that night was _great."_ She then sighed. "I have no doubt that this must be painful for you."

"You have _no_ idea." Robo-Summer said with a melancholy grin, an oily tear leaking from her eye. "But for what it's worth? I never _once_ lied about loving Yang or Ruby: they're _still_ my daughters, after all."

"I know," Raven said with a bittersweet grin of her own even as she whipped away the tear from Robo-Summer's eye. "And that's why _any_ version of Summer Rose will _always_ have a place in our lives. You weren't just my _friend:_ you were my _sister."_

"Hey, guys can you hear me?" Ruby's voice called out over the radio. "I'd _really_ appreciate it if you came over here: the base Penny found for us had a rogue Summer-bot that's currently attacking us."

Raven merely let out a sheepish chuckle as she straightened herself out. "Well, _almost_ any version."

Summer shook her head. "No, it's fine: I know what you mean. Go get properly dressed while I see if Qrow or Cinder is nearby: even if they didn't plan this, I wouldn't put it past them to take advantage of this." She then gave Raven an encouraging grin. "Look after my daughters… _sis."_

Raven simply smiled in return. "Always."

Raven stepped through her portal just as Yang, Blake, and Weiss showed up. "Where's Ruby?"

"I don't know!" Yang shouted. "We just _got _here!"

"Alright, _you two _go that way, _Yang and I _will go _this _way." Once they split up, Yang and Raven quickly spotted Team JNPR fighting the evil Robo-Summer. Pyrrha had been pinned to the wall by her spear through her hip cape, Ren and Nora were tossed aside like rag dolls, and Jaune had been disarmed of his sword.

"Ah! Protect me, _shield!" _Jaune cried before Robo-Summer kicked him in the groin, making him drop the shield.

Pyrrha managed to free herself and reconfigure her weapon into it's rifle form. But Robo-Summer easily snatched it away from her and kicked her aside. Then she aimed the rifle at Jaune's face and pulled the trigger… only for nothing to happen.

"Huh…?" Pyrrha cocked an eyebrow. "Has my weapon been _empty _all this time?!"

"Wait, Ren, weren't _you _supposed to reload our weapons?" Nora asked with a mixture of relief and disappointment.

"Huh, yeah." Ren smiled. "Wow. I guess this is the first time my _laziness _was actually _helpful!"_

"Yeah, thank _gods _for that-" Jaune was cut off when the Summer clone flipped the weapon around and used it like a golf club to launch JNPR's leader through the air. "OOOOOWW-HUH-HUH-HUH! _Why?!" _Jaune groaned as he cupped his manhood.

Unfortunately, he happened to smash into the wall Raven and Yang were hiding behind.

"Uh-oh…"

Yang couldn't help but agree with Raven as the Summer clone approached them. "Uh... mom?" she called out, hoping that this version of Summer would recognize them. Unfortunately, it seemed with _this_ model, Jacques had managed to create the heartless killer he had been looking for, judging by how the Robo-Summer before them quickly started shooting at them, much to Yang's surprise and heartbreak, despite knowing this wasn't _their_ Summer. "WHOA! Okay, we're fighting!"

No sooner had Yang said this, Summer rushed the blonde brawler and threw her into Raven, much to the latter's frustration. "Ow! Dammit! Get off me!"

Grabbing Raven's ankles, Robo-Summer then proceeded to spin-throw her into Jaune's groin again, much to the swordsman's pain and frustration. "Ow-ho-ho-ho-oooooW!"

Ruby, currently watching this from the control room, couldn't help but be nervous. "Uh, Lori? Is there anything you can do to help?"

Yang meanwhile steeled herself as she attempted to sneak up behind Summer with Dragon Fang while she was fighting Raven, Ren, and Nora. "Almost... just a little closer…"

Suddenly, a trailer fell in between them, spilling teleporters all over the place, much to Ruby's frustration and embarrassment. "Oops! Wrong button!"

Unfortunately, _this_ version of Summer was _just_ as competent a warrior as the _original_ Summer, as evidenced when she used this opening to grab Yang and throw her through a teleporter...who quickly popped through another teleporter and crashed into Blake. "What?! What is this yellow stuff?!"

Jaune and Pyrrha, tired of seeing their friends tossed around via one-v-one matches, attempted to double-team the dark clone of Ruby's mother...only for Robo-Summer to block Jaune's sword and redirect Pyrrha's shield into Jaune's crotch again, much to his agony and Pyrrha's embarrassment. "I'm sorry!" She managed to get out before getting thrown by Summer into another teleporter.

Yang, having been on the other side, quickly found herself and the "Invincible Girl" getting knocked into another teleporter due to the momentum...and frustrated by what happened when they came back out. "Ugh, dammit! Still just me?! What _is_ this yellow stuff?!"

Needless to say, Robo-Summer didn't give her the chance to find out, quickly punching Yang towards another teleporter on the floor, only for Jaune to reach over to stop her. "Whoa! Whoa! I got ya!" Unfortunately, Summer merely poked her head up from the teleporter before she punched him in the groin again. "OW! What is your problem with my balls?!" he yelled out before he and Yang fell through the teleporter again.

The Summer clone then grabbed Yang, who was now covered head to toe in yellow stuff, just as she came out of the other end of the teleporter and hoisted her into the air. The older huntress android then slammed the girl onto the ground and kicked her in the stomach with such a force, that all of the yellow stuff that clung to her skin evaporated. "Holy _shit!" _Raven gasped. "She beat the _yellow _right off of you!"

"Ugh! That's _racist!" _Yang groaned as she sat upright.

"Okay, that's it!" Nora yelled out as she held up her bazooka. "Take this!"

Unfortunately, Summer was ready for the missile that headed her way, as evidenced by how she used a teleporter to send it right back at them. The resulting explosion sent everyone flying in different directions. Summer, looking up, then casually scooted a cinder block over with her foot and watched with amusement as Jaune landed on it, groin first. Needless to say, Jaune wasn't as amused. "Whyyyyyyyy?"

"Hey! Scorcher!" Penelope yelled out as she threw her old sphere body at her false mother with a snarl. "How about picking on someone your own size?"

A few minutes later, Penelope was greatly regretting her choice of words, as Robo-Summer mercilessly began to beat her with her abandoned shell. "Ow! Hey! Stop it! Ow!"

"Ugh, what's going on?" Jaune asked, holding an ice pack to his crotch.

"It looks like Summer has gained the upper hand." Ren explained. "To add insult to injury, she's now using Penny's old body to beat her to death."

"Wait… beating someone to death with their own _body?" _Nora asked, skeptically. "That doesn't seem physically _possible."_

At the same time, Yang finally found her sister perched up at the computer console. The hooded huntress loaded some kind of device into Crescent Rose. "Rubes, what're you doing?"

"Lori gave me a virus that'll shut down the bad mom." Ruby explained, eyeing the target. "She hurt _Penny, _and for that she _dies."_

As the evil Robo-Summer continued punching Penelope, Ruby finally locked onto her and pulled the trigger. The device dug deep into the mechanical Guardsman, injecting her with a virus that immediately shut down her entire system. Penelope sighed in relief as her attacker collapsed to the ground. "Thank you, Ruby!"

"Yes! Yes! I _did _it!" Ruby cheered. "I _won! _I am the _best! _I beat up my mom!" She then frowned. "I probably shouldn't have said it like that."

"It's okay, Rubes," Yang said as she pulled her sister into a hug. "It wasn't _her,_ not really, and I'm sure that _our_ Summer would be proud of how you handled yourself."

Ruby couldn't help but blink even as she returned the hug. "Robo-Summer or flesh-and-blood-Summer?"

"Yes."

"She's not wrong though," the _real_ Robo-Summer remarked as she rounded the corner. "You handled yourself fairly well."

Jaune felt his eyes narrow. "How long…?"

"Since about the third time my clone hit you in the kiwis," Robo-Summer said with a shrug. "I _was_ going to step in if things got too out of control, but you proved capable of handling yourselves just fine." She then frowned as she looked upon the fallen "Scorcher." "Mögen die Götter deiner Seele gnädig sein, meine Schwester. (May the gods have mercy on your soul, my sister.)"

Weiss simply brought Robo-Summer into a hug, not even _needing_ to speak German - which she did - to know what she was upset over. "It's okay: Jacques can't hurt her anymore."

"I know," Summer said with a nod even as she returned the hug to the girl who, in a strange sort of way, was just as much of a daughter to her as Ruby, Yang, and Penny (and her "siblings") had been. "But that just makes it hurt even more, knowing that I'm _here_ while the _real_ Summer is still suffering."

"We'll find a way to help her: I promise." Weiss replied even as she relished the embrace with the robotic duplicate of her future mother-in-law.

Just then, Ciel walked up to the group with her scroll in one hand. "Okay, I have _good news _and _bad news, _which would you like to hear first?"

"The _bad _news." The group said in unison, knowing that it was best to get the worst out of the way first.

"Qrow and Cinder are on their way here. Right now."

The others gasped in shock. "Okay, give us the _good _news!" Yang demanded.

"The only reason I know that is because Svetlana and Mikhail are on the roof of this building in a helicopter. They spotted Cinder and called me wanting to know why Qrow was with the Meta." Ciel remarked with a smile.

Needless to say, Penelope quickly joined the others in a relieved smile. "Well, let's not keep them waiting then."

Ruby nodded, turning to the computer console. "I wish we could take you with us, Lori, but we're on a time crunch and there's no way to know for certain if the helicopter's computers are compatible with your systems. I promise, though: we _will_ come back for you."

"I...thank you, Ruby. I think I'd rather like that." Gloria/Lori declared, tears of joy in her eyes, before turning to Penelope. "Before you leave, would you like to make a journal entry? It has been quite a while since President Schnee, Agent Rose, or any of the Maiden fragment's made their last update."

Penelope couldn't help but blink. "Journal?"

Gloria/Lori gave a bittersweet smile. "Yes. I know you and your friends are busy, but Jacques always asked me to remind him, Summer, Miss Polendina, and/or any of the latter's sisters when they were falling behind on documentation. 'Documentation is an important part of any scientific endeavor,' he claimed but observing you and your friends - especially Miss Ruby Rose - has made me wonder if there is more to life than science."

Penelope snorted in reply. "Sounds like something they'd do, but, um... if you don't mind, could you play one of the entries for me?"

"Certainly."

"Journal Entry 214-13: The continued insistence of some of my board members on referring to Agent Rose as a byproduct continues to frustrate me. We have seen our share of unharvestable fragments, and she is certainly _not_ one of them." Jacques Schnee's voice ran out. "No indeed, she's something else entirely. It's true that she is not one of the emotional cores, with which we've had enormous success, but nor is she a fleeting manifestation of the memory system. I dare say, that I hope the stability matters will manifest soon, and thus prove once and for all that the will of man is superior to any so-called magic. As an aside, however, Trifa Webbs, alias Agent Blue, continued insistence of both allowing that masked woman to raid my facilities and looking into Agent Rose's past continues despite my best efforts to dissuade her. The latter is especially alarming, as the reveal of her true origins would further encourage Miss Rose's continued defiance against company protocol. Once again, I can't help but wonder why she cannot simply accept her place in our organization. In any case, the time has come for Agent Blue to be dealt with."

Penelope nodded, filling away this information for later. "Lori, I want you to transfer this and all other journal entries to me for safekeeping...and do me a favor: delete everything afterwards."

"Understood."

A few hours later, the group arrived in New Rushland to plan their next move. Mikhail thanked his friend for the ride and waved him off as he took off again. Then, while Svetlana caught up with Team RWBY, he led the others into his house. "So, let me see if I understand this _correctly." _He asked Ciel. "My wife's _friend, _who turned out to be a _robot, _was actually a _magic ghost _who broke off pieces of her soul to make little _ghost babies _who _also _think they're robots?"

"It makes even _less _sensewhen _you _say it." Ciel sighed, tiredly.

Meanwhile, Svetlana led RWBY to the barn and silos where the Rushland couple stored their stock of potatoes, corn, and rye. Much to the group's shock, they had gathered quite a lot in the past few months. "Whoa." Was all Yang could say. "You guys have been _busy."_

"Eh, not _really." _Svetlana shrugged. "So far, we've only been able to harvest _nine-hundred and ninety-nine _kilograms of everything." She turned to see Yang and Ruby flashing the same confused expression, indicating she needed to clarify. "That's two-thousand two-hundred and four_ pounds."_

"Whoa, so you guys _literally _have a _ton _of produce!" Ruby gasped in amazement, much to her girlfriend's annoyance.

"No, you _dolt. _That isn't _literally _a to-" Weiss paused to correct herself. "Well, it's a _tonne; 'T-O-N-N-E.' _Also known as a _metric ton."_

"'Metric?'" Yang snorted. "Who the hell uses _metric?"_

"Uh, _everyone _except for _Patch, Vale, _and parts of _Anima." _Blake replied.

"But enough about _me! _I've _missed you, _my friends!" Svetlana pulled Yang and Blake into a tight bear hug. "And Mikhail has a _special surprise _for you all back in the kitchen!"

The group followed Svetlana back to the main house just as her husband finished pouring glasses for everyone while telling them the story of how they met. "... was just about to step in and save her, when she _unleashed _the most _beautiful _and _terrifying _act of violence. Her perfect, crimson locks _flowing _in the wind as she broke that man's nose. And I think _that _was when she stole the bottle out of my hand, _broke _it, and used it to _sever _that jackass' carotid artery."

"... wow…" Jaune replied, nervously. "She sounds like she's gonna make a _great mother _someday."

"Oh, we can't afford to have _children _yet." Mikhail chuckled. "I mean, we only have a _tonne _of our produce ready for sale."

It was then that Svetlana and Team RWBY entered the kitchen just as they were about to perform a toast. Ruby eagerly reached out to take one of the glasses before Raven spoke up. "Whoa, whoa, _whoa! No! _If _Summer _doesn't kill me for letting you drink alcohol, I _assure _you that your _father _will."

"I'm not a _baby!" _Ruby protested, accepting the glass. "If I'm old enough to fight _nightmare monsters _and juggle _PTSD, _then I can have _adult drinks!" _With that, the hooded huntress drank the glass' entire contents in one gulp. Svetlana and Mikhail drank with her, not noticing the pained expression on the poor girl's face. Trembling, Ruby set the glass aside and forced herself to smile. "... _excellent…" _She wheezed, trying to ignore the burning in her throat.

Yang took her own glass, sniffed it, and recoiled in disgust. "What's _in _this stuff?"

"Oh, it's an _old family recipe." _Mikhail replied, happily. "Nothing _too _fancy. Just _corn, rye, wheat, alcohol, sugar, _and just a _pinch _of _fire dust_ for flavor."

The others immediately threw their own glasses away… just as something shattered every window surrounding them. Ruby, Penelope, Svetlana, and Mikhail gasped as their friends collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Penelope noticed something protruding from Ruby's arm and yanked it out of her. "Ouch!" She yelped. "What the heck is _that?!"_

"A _dart." _Penelope replied, not noticing the dart stuck in her own head. "Presumably one meant to administer a deadly _poison."_

Svetlana plucked the dart out of her own chest and inspected it as Mikhail took care of his own. "This has _Jean Purple's name _written _all _over it." She declared.

"How can you be so _sure?" _Penelope asked, skeptically.

The Rushland girl held up the dart for her still-conscious friends to see, pointing at the label. "Because it has Jean Purple's name _written _all over it."

"Oh, gods…" Ruby whimpered. "So Uncle Qrow actually _forced _Jean to poison my friends?"

"Don't _worry, _Ruby." Svetlana patted Ruby on the back, comfortingly. "They're still _breathing. _Even in the face of _death, _Jean would never _kill _anyone. But when they _wake up, _they'll have a rather _uncomfortable _stomach ache."

"But _wait; we _got hit by those darts, too." Ruby pointed out, matter-of-factly. "So why weren't _we _affected?"

"Well, _Penelope _is a _robot, _but as for _us…" _Mikhail reached into the cabinet and proudly showed off the bottle of his family's vodka. "I'd say it is because of _this!"_

"Ha ha! Of _course!" _Svetlana laughed, heartily. "Gods _praise _to the Kashonovyys!"

"You… you _really _think that was strong enough to fight off the poison?" Ruby asked.

"Are you _kidding? _This shit could probably kill _cancer cells!" _Mikhail chortled as he took a swig.

Meanwhile, Cinder, Qrow and Barmak had yet to witness the miracle of the quartet's resistance to the poison and began their advance. "Thank you for your assistance, Ms. Purple." Qrow smirked as she pushed the medical student aside. "Let's go, Meta."

However, before they could proceed, a portal opened up in front of them. Out stepped Raven Branwen, armed and ready to fight. "Hello, little brother." She taunted.

"You're awake?!" Qrow called out.

Raven snorted, tapping her chest as she did. "For once, I'm _glad_ that I have this pacemaker of mine: if it can keep me up and running with all the damage I did to my own lungs from back when I took up smoking, it sure as heck can handle that botched up poison the medic hit me with. When it took the others down, though, I decided to play possum until you revealed your hand."

"Clever," Barmak growled out, "but we'll _still_ be taking your companions now."

"You aren't touching them." Raven declared as she got into a fighting stance.

"And who's going to stop us? You?" Cinder said with an arrogant chuckle. "I've heard quite a bit about you, Raven Brawnwen, and let me tell you, you aren't as strong as you think you are. You aren't as good of a leader, as good of a _person_ as you _pretend_ to be."

"Wonder of wonders: I _never_ thought I'd agree with Cinder Fall," Qrow remarked.

"Yeah, I've made my fair share of mistakes." the Branwen Chieftess said with a nod. "But better a _thief_ and a _bandit_ than a _coward_ and a _traitor."_

"Uh, _excuse_ me?!" Qrow growled out. "Mrs. Kettle? Mr. Pot's on the line. He says you're blaaack."

Their Doppelganger companion blinked, unable to not notice how Agent Grey had tried to stop himself there. "What? It's a turn of phrase. It's got nothing to do with race."

"I'm sorry, okay? It's just that I'm never quite sure how to act around you guys, what with you being Grimm and everything." Qrow said with a sheepish grin.

"Okay, you see there? _That_ was racist."

"Wonderful, we're learning _so_ much," Cinder said with a roll of her eyes. "But can we _please_ stop trying to start a full out race war and get back to dealing with the battle right in front of us?"

"Oh, great, now _I'm_ agreeing with Cinder," Raven couldn't help but groan even as she let out a mocking grin. "Is what I _would_ say if I had any intention of fighting all of you at once."

"So, you're surrendering?" Cinder asked with an arrogant laugh. "Nice to know that you learned a bit of humility before you died."

"You misunderstand: I've already won." Raven said with an amused snort. "After all, our little reunion is missing a certain someone, isn't it?"

"Wait, she's right!" Qrow declared with wide eyes as he looked around. "Where's Summer?!"

"Right behind you," Robo-Summer declared over the intercom of the Manta that she had "liberated" from Qrow and Cinder. "Yang, Weiss, if you would?"

Ruby nodded. "FREEZER BURN!"

Qrow growled as the blonde brawler and the Schnee heiress - despite how groggy they were feeling - managed to quickly produce an improvised smoke screen. "This was all a distraction."

"And you did an _excellent_ job of falling for it." Raven remarked.

Qrow quickly moved to secure his sister and company, only to quickly realize that they weren't there anymore, having been ferried onto the "liberated" Manta. Needless to say, he couldn't help but let out an anguished yell of rage at having his shot at freedom slip through his fingers once again.

**To Be Continued**


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

The Teams had taken refuge at Lil' Miss Malachite's Inn and Bar in Minstral, thanks to a favor the crime boss owed Raven. While the chieftess, Ruby, Penny, and the Rushland couple had been spared from the painful poison, the others had rushed to the nearest bathroom or bucket to relieve themselves of their stomachs' contents. Mikhail handed his wife and Ruby a pair of glasses and proceeded to pour them another drink for good measure.

"Ugh, _gods!" _Yang groaned as she exited the bathroom. "Fuck that poison dart!"

"Yeah, sorry." Jean declared with a wince even as she re-entered the room with a few supplies. "I deluded it as best as I could, but some of the ingredients I used to do so have been known to cause nausea."

"We _noticed,"_ Ciel growled out even as she held a bucket that she had been puking into close by, before sighing. "But I suppose we can't be _too_ upset with you: those ingredients are the only reason we're even _alive._ Speaking of ingredients, though, you sure did gather those supplies for that antidote you mentioned rather quickly."

Jean simply smiled. "What can I say? I ran track in middle school."

"Well, can you at least make the antidote taste _better _than that damn liquid fire Svetlana forced down our throats to wake us up?" Weiss groaned over her own bucket. "My head is _still _spinning. And I doubt it's from the _poison."_

"Heh, _lightweights." _Svetlana chuckled as she, Mikhail, and Ruby shared another glass of the homemade vodka.

"Y'know, it's really not that bad once you get _used _to it." Ruby remarked, licking her lips. "It's actually pretty _tasty."_

"Well, that's _enough _for today." Raven said, sternly, snatching the glass away from her niece. "Summer will be back any minute now, and she'll be _livid _if she sees you drinking."

Meanwhile, in a separate bedroom, Penelope had been studying the audio logs she had stolen from the SDC. It was from those logs that she learned the truth that Penny had refused to believe. She was never a machine, nor was she an artificial intelligence program based off of a human huntress. She was the Summer Maiden: a magical spirit gifted with the powers of the seasons. To her surprise, the more she read, the more everything became clear to her. As if her mind had been relieved of a fog that had long since clouded her memories. But just as was about to continue, her world went dark.

When she woke up, she was surrounded by a group of multi-colored girls who appeared quite similar to her. Looking back down at herself, Penelope saw that she was now glowing with a bright green aura. "Who _are _you people?" She asked, standing up.

"Technically, we're _you." _Priscilla answered before turning to the blue fragment. "Actually, that reminds me: Pearl, I _thought_ we agreed _not _to reveal ourselves to Penelope, yet."

"It was _inevitable." _Pearl declared with a helpless shrug. "With the acquisition of Jacques' audio logs, Penelope now has _full knowledge _of our origin."

"So why are we here, now?" Pamela/Luna asked in her usual monotone voice. "If she possesses the means of learning everything, why did we interfere?"

"Penelope's mind is still _fragile _at this time." Pearl explained. "It is true that she had to relearn her memories on her own, but this method jeopardizes her mental stability as well as ours. For whatever _she _remembers, _we _shall also remember."

"But I still have so many _questions!" _Penelope stated, enthusiastically. "Are you guys my _sisters? _Or my _children? _Are you _clones _of me? Am I a clone of _you? _Did we all _grow up _together at some point?"

"No. To _all _of that." Priscilla replied, annoyed at the fragment's ignorance. "We are all just _fragments _of the Summer Maiden. _That _we are all certain of."

"Oh, of _course…" _Penelope nodded. "I'm sorry, this is just so _surreal. _Wait… we _did _have real sisters, though! The _other _Maidens!"

"Yes. That _is _correct." Pearl smiled. "It seems you are regaining pieces of your memories at a healthy pace. Do you remember how we were separated from our sisters?"

"Uh… I _think _so." The memory fragment scratched her head in concentration. "I have this… this _vague _memory of me as a _human child, _and someone tries to take us away from our mother and father, so someone hit him with a… _sled? _Does that sound right?"

"No, you _idiot!" _Paulette grumbled, angrily. "That didn't happen to _us! _That's from an old _Orange Welles _movie!"

"No, wait! It was our _father _trying to take us away from our _mother!_ Or perhaps more accurately, _rescue_ us from our mother!"Penelope corrected. "Said something about her losing her fight to remain _human,_ and he wanted to try and protect us, but she unfortunately caught onto his rescue attempt. And it wasn't a _sled! _It was a _magic blast!"_

"Oh. Yeah, that _does _sound familiar." Paulette rubbed her chin in thought, much calmer now.

"Right?"

"Yeah, I think I remember a… _stuffed toy dog?" _Phoebe added. "And we wore a… a _green dress!"_

"Right?!"

"Okay, so now that we've established where we came from, what's our _next _move?" Paulette asked. "Personally, I say we ought to go find Jacques Schnee and _slit his throat _for what he's done to us!"

"Of course you would." Pearl said with a roll of her eyes. "But I suggest we take a more _logical _route to bringing Jacques Schnee to justice. For instance, we could try to find _another _Guardsman he has scorned to assist us with our quest."

"But most of the Guardsmen are _dead." _Phoebe pointed out, sadly, before perking up as an idea came to her. "Oh! Maybe first, we should check to see if _Father's _still alive!"

"'Father?'" Paulette echoed. "You mean _Pietro Polendina? _As in the man who currently lives in Atlas, which just so happens to be filled with soldiers who are _LOOKING FOR US?!"_

Phoebe quickly retreated behind Pearl to avoid Paulette's wrath. "She's _scary." _She whimpered at her sister.

"Don't worry, Phoebe." Pearl soothed. "She can't hurt you."

"She _does_ have a point, though: if we _do_ go that route, we'd _need_ to be careful."

Penelope blinked upon hearing that: somehow that voice was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. "Who said that?"

"Right here, Sis!"

Here, noting that _that_ voice had been different then the first, Penelope turned to the source of those two voices, blinking upon spotting who was standing...well, _floating_ before her. "Wait, I remember you two: you were those two _other_ 'A.I.s' that Cinder had."

"And we thank you for freeing us from her." the more cheerful of the two called out. "My name's Polly and this is my twin, Patricia. We represent your Joy and Fear, respectively."

"And for the record, _Priscilla,_ I _am_ capable of _more_ than just cowering in fear," Patricia declared, albeit with a touch of nervousness in her voice.

Needless to say, Priscilla couldn't help but wince: while she didn't necessarily regret her choices, it was clear to even her that her time with Cinder had put a strain on her relationship with her other siblings. "I, uh, I have _a lot_ of apologizing to do after this, don't I?"

Pamela/Luna could only give a bitter snort in reply. "Yes, yes you do."

"So, does anyone have an idea on how to stop Qrow and the Meta?" Penelope asked.

"Uh… maybe we could _ask _them to stop?" Phoebe suggested.

Polly just sighed. "Phoebe, I love you, but even _I'm_ not optimistic enough to believe that it'd be that simple."

"She's not wrong," Pearl declared. "But as Maria would say, 'We ain't going to get _anything_ done by just standing around here and talking.'"

"Hey, that imitation was pretty good."

Pearl just shrugged. "Well, you spend enough time around someone and you pick up a thing or…" She then paused. "How long…?"

Summer, having arrived with Ruby and company, simply gave an easy going grin. "Long enough...and for the record, Penelope, if you wanted to keep that conversation with 'yourself' private, maybe remember to close the door behind you."

"Eh, leave them be," Raven said with a shrug even as Penelope began to look like she would be blushing in embarrassment if she were flesh and blood. "Compared to everything else that's happened, this could _almost_ be considered _normal."_

"Hey, speaking of which, you know what I just noticed?" Ruby asked. "We haven't really heard about anything involving Torchwick or the White Fang in _weeks."_

"Yeah, _so?" _Ren replied.

"I dunno. I guess I miss the _little _things." Ruby shrugged.

"Huh. Yeah, I guess you're right." Ren turned to his girlfriend. "I mean, Nora, remember when we used to just kinda _hang out _in the background and talk?"

"Yeah. Good times." Nora nodded, musingly.

"Regardless, I think it's time we head out," Raven declared. "I've got an old bunker out in Vaceo that we can…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Summer interrupted with a frown. "You aren't _seriously_ suggesting that we run away _again,_ are you?!"

"We can't take on two Guardsmen gone _rogue!"_

"_I _am a Guardsman!" Summer replied. "So I can anticipate their moves before they make them! I say we stand our ground!"

"It's _my _portal!" Raven refuted. "So _I _decide where and _when _we go! We _run!"_

"We can't run _forever!"_

"We can _try!"_

"TAIS-TOI! (SHUT UP!)" Ciel snapped, angrily, startling everyone else. "LES_ DEUX! _BAISE MAINTENANT! C'EST UN _ORDRE! COMPRENDRE?!_ (THE _BOTH OF YOU!_ RIGHT FUCKING NOW! THAT'S AN _ORDER! UNDERSTAND?!)" _The room fell silent as the French girl slowly realized her outburst, and soon felt fear rising in her chest at the sight of the two adult huntresses glaring at her. "Uh, _sorry." _She smiled, meekly. "I-I just thought, with the whole _'next move' _issue up for debate, I might as well throw _my _ideas in for consideration. _Sorry."_

Raven and Summer decided to take their argument elsewhere, much to the relief of Ciel. Jean tapped on her friend's shoulder, hoping to comfort her. _"I'd _vote for you."

"Regardless, I might not understand French, but I _do_ know that Ciel had a point regarding her outburst," Ruby called out even as the aformentioned French girl smiled in appreciation, the red-hooded huntress gesturing to her mother and aunt as she did. _"This_ is what Jacques, what _Salem_ wants: for us to tear each other apart. After all, in their mind, deep down, we're just like them: a bunch of selfish brats who only look after ourselves. Now, don't get me wrong: Auntie Raven is right to believe that we're not ready to take _either_ of them down just yet, but Mom's not wrong either: we can't keep running forever."

"What's the plan then, sis?" Yang couldn't help but ask, even as a proud look appeared on her face.

Ruby simply smiled. "No offence to my Auntie, but I'm _tired_ of running. Besides, Cinder's been trying to force me - force _us_ \- into a corner since the day we first met: I think it's time we returned the favor."

"What do you mean?" Yang asked.

"Let's take the fight to the _source _of our problems." Ruby decided. "We are going to take down _Project Guardsman!"_

To this, Penelope stroked her chin in thought. "Well, if I remember correctly, there _is_ a base South of here that Jacques used to visit quite frequently: might be worth checking out."

"Good a place to start as any," Jaune remarked, before looking around. "Speaking of the Schnees, has anyone seen Weiss?"

As if to answer his question, a loud crash was heard in one of the back rooms, promptly drawing Ruby's attention, as evidenced by the rose petals she had left behind in her haste. "Weiss, are you okay?!" she quickly yelled out as she entered where she heard the crash, only the gasp at the sight before her.

The Schnee heiress could only chuckle as she took in the same sight as her girlfriend: the Arma Gigas, her first complete summon. She'd have to try and remember to practice with her Boarbatusk at some point, but for now, she was content to know that she'd have much more control of her Semblance for when she faced off against the traitorous Qrow Branwen and company again. "Yes, Ruby," she declared even as the dazzling giant took a knee in subservience to her and her girlfriend as she came to stand beside her. "I think I'll be _just_ fine."

"I'm glad," Ruby declared, quickly bringing her girlfriend in for a kiss, which she readily returned even as the Arma Gigas summon faded from view.

One hour later, the teams gathered up their equipment while Raven paid their host. "We thank you for your hospitality." She said, handing a lien bill to the owner.

"Of course," Lil' Miss Malachite declared, before she gave a slight frown upon spotting Yang in the corner. "You're that girl who likes to rough up Junior's bar, right?"

"Yeah?" Yang shrugged. "Why?"

"Well, do me a favor, will ya? Next time you visit, tell Melanie and Militia their _momma _misses 'em."

"Wait, _you're_ their _MOM?!"_ Yang yelled out, before blinking. "You know, that actually explains _so much…_ and yet doesn't explain _anything at all."_

"Melanie and Militia?" Blake asked. "You mean those Chinese twins who work for Junior?"

"They're _Japanese." _Malachite corrected.

Yang scoffed, bitterly, at her wife's ignorance. "Oh, _come off it!" _Blake replied, defensively. "I don't get mad at _you _when you mistake a _wolf Faunus _for a _dog Faunus!"_

"You mean _either _time that happened?" Yang snorted.

"Oh, gods." Raven rolled her eyes. "Listening to you two is giving me the _worst _case of deja vu."

Yang's heart jumped into her throat at the thought of what her mother was implying. Acting quickly, she hugged Blake close to her, trying not to cry. "It's no big deal; people make mistakes; there's no reason to fight; _please don't leave me."_

"You were _teasing, _weren't you?" Summer whispered to her old friend.

"Got them to _shut up, _didn't it?" Raven chortled.

Blake, having overheard this due to her cat ears, rolled her eyes in frustration even as she locked eyes with her wife, shaking her head as she did. "Yang, I'm not upset with you, not really. Heck, _I'm_ the one who should be apologizing to _you._ After all, I know better than _anyone_ how important one's lineage is to a person."

Yang frowned. "I can't help but feel there's a _big_ difference between not understanding the difference between a Chinese and a Japanese person and kicking someone out of a restaurant because she has cat ears or something like that."

Blake smiled, giving her a peck on the lips as she did. "And that's why I love you so much: you see things like _that_ and it _upsets_ you. You see people like me and see, well, _people._ Unlike Adam, even though you don't always understand all the subtle difference between Faunus and ordinary humans, when you see someone like me, you do something he _never_ did with people like you: you _try._ You _try_ and understand. You _try_ to make peace. You _try_ and make sure that the fighting ends as quickly as possible. Maybe _that's_ why it never registered to me that you were of a Chinese bloodline: whenever I see you, all I can see is my Sunny Little Dragon."

Raven couldn't help but frown even as Yang blushed in reply. "Adam Taurus: he's the one you used to date before you met my daughter?"

Blake just gave her a flat look. "You want to know what I saw in him."

Summer shared a look with her teammate before merely shrugging in reply. "I... _we_ know that, in your mind, he wasn't always like he is now, but...well, no offense, but it's hard to understand why you would go out with someone who had cut your now-wife's arm off."

Blake nodded in understanding. "None taken, but as to Adam...how to explain this?" She eventually sighed. "Have you ever met someone and thought 'They are the personification of _this_ word'?"

Raven merely raised an eyebrow. "Does saying my brother is a hypocrite and a traitor count?"

Blake just shook her head with a smile. "Okay, well, I remember getting to know Ruby and thinking 'This girl is the embodiment of _purity.'_ After a while I saw that Weiss was _defiance,_ and Yang was _strength."_

"What about me and my teammate?" Summer couldn't help but ask.

Blake simply shrugged. "Jury's still out on that one, but I'm leaning towards _stubbornness _and _redemption."_

The huntresses shared an unsure look. "Which is which?"

Blake merely rolled her eyes in amusement, before sighing. "At first I thought that Adam was _justice,_ then I thought he was _passion,_ but over time, I realized I was wrong. He wasn't any of those things: he was _spite._ Not _hatred,_ not _rage: spite._ He won't accept equality: only suffering for what he feels the world did to him, and as the Battle of Beacon proved, his way of thinking is dangerously contagious."

"You're not _him." _Yang held her wife's hands in a comforting manner.

"That doesn't mean I don't have a lot to make up for." Blake sighed, even as she gave her wife a look of appreciation. "So you can count on me to stay by your side."

Meanwhile, Qrow and Cinder were listening in on Team RWBY's conversation by hacking into their scrolls. "So, they're heading to the old compound." Qrow nodded. "Good. Looks like we finally got a lead."

"There's no more room for _error, _Branwen." Cinder warned. "If we want our freedom back, we have _got _to stop your niece and sister. Are you willing to do what needs to be done?"

"... yeah. I'm just glad Winter won't be around when her sister finds out about what she's done in the past. She at least deserves _that."_

"I never thought I'd hear you speaking about her in such high regard." Cinder snorted.

"Yeah, well… people change." Qrow replied, thinking back to better times.

_Years ago, Qrow - better known as Agent Gray at the time - sat across from Winter Schnee, alias Agent White. While listening to the latest lecture on A.I. maintenance, Qrow kept kicking Winter's legs under the table, much to the Schnee's frustration. Eventually, Winter started kicking back until her final kick shook the table._

"_Ow!" Qrow shouted, jumping up from his seat._

"_Agent Gray!" Ironwood shouted. "What is it _this _time?"_

"_Agent White just _kicked _me!" Qrow pointed, accusingly._

_Winter could hardly believe her ears. She quickly bolted upwards and pointed back at her tormentor. "But, _sir! He_ kicked _me_ first!"_

_The entire room fell deathly silent; all the other Guardsmen staring at Winter in confusion. It was only then that Winter realized how childish what she had said sounded. Embarrassed, the former heiress sank back into her seat and remained silent throughout the rest of the meeting. All the while, Qrow hadn't taken his eyes off of her; a smug grin plastered over his face. He wasn't sure if she ever felt self-conscious about being the youngest member of the team, but he knew that after that fiasco she certainly did _now.

_After the meeting, Qrow managed to bump into Winter before she could meet up with her girlfriend. "Aw, did the mean old man hurt your feewings?" He asked, mockingly. "Maybe next time you'll show a little more _tact _when you deny my request to get a drink."_

_Winter shot him a cold glare. "If you were my husband, I'd poison your whisky." She threatened._

"_If you were my wife, I'd _drink _it." Qrow snorted._

"_When are you going to stop acting like a _child?!" _Winter demanded._

_Qrow lewdly looked the top-tier agent up and down. "Depends. You're _nineteen, _right?"_

"_Take it easy, tiger." Agent Silver, aka Maria Calavera, chuckled, putting her arm around Winter as she did. "She's _mine."

_Winter, despite her earlier irritation, couldn't help but give a smile here. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."_

_Despite his earlier teasing, Agent Grey had the decency to look away as the eldest Schnee locked lips with the blacked haired woman. After all, it was hard _not_ to respect the woman who had managed to hook up with the infamous Grimm Reaper._

Qrow shook his head in slight amusement as he came back to the present. "Come to think of it, Weiss and her sister share the same taste in women: black haired, scythe wielding Silver-Eyed Warriors."

Despite her disdain for the man's niece, Cinder couldn't help but give a snort in agreement in reply. "Indeed: as much as it pains me to admit it, I've little doubt in my mind that should she survive long enough, little Ruby might one day inherit the late Agent Silver's _other_ title. Well, that is, if we don't have to _kill _her first."

"Easy...Cinder, was it?" Barmak declared as he approached. "Our orders were to locate 'Holly', and they can't tell us where she's been sent if they're _dead."_

"My thoughts exactly," Qrow remarked. "And besides, she's _still_ my niece."

"Fine, fine," Cinder said with a roll of her eyes. "I'll try and capture her alive." She eyed Barmak as Qrow walked off. "We're still killing Ruby later, right?"

"Of course," Barmak declared with a wicked grin. "We promised to capture the Great Destroyer alive: we never said she'd _stay_ that way."

Meanwhile, Summer and Raven had gone ahead of the group and arrived at the Schnee outpost. Summer immediately went about setting a circle of landmines a few miles away from the entrance of the building. This left Raven confused. "Shouldn't this be a little _closer _to the entryway?"

"Well, Qrow and I were both Guardsmen." Summer explained. "So, he _knows _that I'll expect him to have figured out a way to be tracking us, so he'll most likely park his vehicle _away _from the building and enter by foot. That way, we catch _him _off guard before he catches _us _off guard."

"... I think you're _overreacting."_

"Maybe I _am_ being paranoid, but given how I've been on the run from Jacques Schnee for nearly a decade, can you _blame_ me?" Summer asked with a slight glare.

"Not really," Raven said with a sigh. "Still, better to be safe than sorry, I suppose. Speaking of paranoia, I'll go ahead and portal back to Yang to let her and the others know where we set up the mines in person: maybe _I'm_ being paranoid, but I can't shake the feeling that our scrolls aren't as secure as I'd _prefer_ them to be."

Summer merely nodded in reply. "Fair enough." As Raven disappeared, however, Summer gave a sigh. "You might as well come out; I _know_ you're there."

"I never _could_ sneak up on you, Summer." Qrow remarked with a bitter chuckle as he came out behind a tree, looking to where their (former) partner had portaled away as he did. "I'm assuming that Raven is going to give Ruby and the others instructions to try and rescue you and/or retrieve the data we're both looking for with us being none the wiser or something like that."

"More or less," she said with a shrug before giving a tired sigh even as Qrow got into a fighting stance. "We don't _have_ to do this, you know. You can just put down the weapon and we can go home."

"And then what?" Qrow growled out. "Rot in a cell for the rest of my life?"

"You _know_ we'd do everything we could to prevent you being locked up," Summer declared with a shake of her head. "But with everything you've done, can you honestly look me in the eye and say that you wouldn't _deserve_ to go back to prison?" She approached Qrow as he looked away in shame, lowering his weapon as he did. "There's still time for you to do the right thing."

"I'm sorry."

Summer could only give a sad smile. "I know...and I'm sure the others will as well."

Qrow just shook his head in frustration. "No, I mean I'm sorry… but I've got my orders. Cinder, NOW!" Despite making it clear what side he was on as Summer was blasted into a nearby tree by the Meta's gunfire, Agent Grey couldn't help but let out a tear as an unconscious Agent Rose fell to the ground in defeat. "You really _were_ just like the _original_ Summer."

"Save your tears for later, human." Barmak replied as he and Agent Crimson came out from where they were hiding, giving a dark chuckle as he looked upon their fallen foe. "One Rose down, one to go."

**To Be Continued**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

As it turned out, androids don't stay knocked out for long, so needless to say, Qrow was learning the hard way that even if he wasn't fighting the _real_ Summer Rose, this machine sure as hell _fought_ just like her. The android struck at Qrow with the same ferocity as her template, and was just as skilled to boot. And she was cunning as well, as she managed to reach for a grenade as she did a kick flip and throw it at him. Unfortunately, she underestimated the structural integrity of the ice they had been fighting on, and soon she, Qrow, and Cinder found themselves running for their lives to escape the crumbling ice. Summer and Cinder managed to get to safety just in time to resume their fight, but Qrow was less fortunate. His slab of ice had just fallen when he spotted a familiar purple-haired medic waving a tow cable at him.

"Hey, Brawnwin, heads up!" Jean shouted.

Qrow perked up as Jean, having chanced upon them, threw the tow cable from the Warthog over the side of the cliff...only to groan as it just _barely_ made it over the side. "You have _got_ to be kidding me." Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, however, he sighed and jumped for the cable regardless, just _barely_ managing to grab onto it as he did. "That was the _second worst throw, ever… of all time." _Qrow grumbled as he got back onto solid ground.

"Gimme a _break. _I ran _track _in middle school, _traitor."_ Jean muttered back.

Qrow could only wince, having a good idea where the aggression is coming from. "Look, I _know_ that I have a _lot_ of things to apologize for, but if we could just _focus,_ we can…"

"Oh, would you just SHUT UP ALREADY!?" Summer yelled out even as she knocked Cinder to the ground, seemingly knocking her out. "I gave you a chance to walk away from this, and what did you do?! You took a page out of your _Jacques'_ playbook by treating your friends, your _family_ as pawns! ...and don't give me some spiel of how "this is for the greater good" or whatever other lies you're telling yourself: you just don't want to admit that you're more afraid of spending the rest of your life in a cell then you are seeing your own family getting hurt! For crying out loud: Yang and Ruby _themselves_ have stated that you _deserve_ to be in a cell after everything you've done!" She then pointed to the downed Meta. "Heck, you sided with _her_ of all people, and you know better than _anyone_ her tendency to…" ...and that was as far as she got before Cinder, having been playing possum until now, got up and stabbed Summer in the back with a knife.

"What are you _doing?!"_ Qrow yelled out with wide eyes. "We don't need to hurt her: we only need…" ...but unfortunately, his cries fell on deaf ears as Cinder stabbed Summer in the face with the Memory Unit they had brought along with them, only able to watch in horror as her body went limp.

"NO!" And that was all the warning Agent Crimson got before Penelope, having arrived on the scene, punched Cinder away from her mother's body, temporarily stunning the Meta, before turning to glare at Qrow. "Help me revive her, and I _might_ consider leaving you unharmed. Yang, Ruby, and Raven can decide your punishment afterwards."

Qrow just shook his head in horror/frustration. " I...I _can't:_ the unit is _failing."_ He then gave a hollow sigh. "I'm sorry, Penelope, but it's over. Just come along with us quietly and nobody else has to get hurt."

Needless to say, Penelope was _not_ happy to hear this. "I'm not going _anywhere_ with _you, traitor!"_

"Sorry to hear that," Qrow said with a sigh before turning towards the Meta. "Give me the memory unit."

Cinder paused before giving a wicked grin. "I _could_ do that, or _maybe_ I could…" ...and that was all the warning Agent Grey got before Agent Crimson strapped the memory unit to her back and activated her cloaking unit."

Needless to say, Qrow was _not_ happy with this new development. "How could you do this?! I trusted you!"

"_You…" Pyrrha teared up as she stared at the bloody bodies of her friends. "How _could_ you? Ruby always said you were a man of honor, but I haven't seen any proof of it so far!"_

"_You're Ruby's Uncle, alright: you have the same analytical mind and pragmatic fighting style," Weiss remarked, even as she got back up with a snarl. "Such a shame I can't say the same of her noble heart and undying loyalty, traitor."_

"_At least I know where my loyalties lie," was Taiyang's immediate reply, gesturing to his haggard companions. "After all, _I'm_ not the one responsible for all this carnage."_

"Reflect."_ Another Doppelganger groaned. "Stop making _friends_ with the _bad guys."

"_Oh, don't act so high and mighty, Agent Grey," Agent Crimson said with a roll of her eyes. "You knew I worked for your enemy when you signed up to work with me: why should it matter now that you know exactly who that enemy was?"_

"_Take care, Uncle of the Great Destroyer," Jasmine declared before the man got too far. "If you continue to follow this path for too long, you stand to lose _a lot_ more than just your _freedom."

"_Yeah, I've made my fair share of mistakes." the Branwen Chieftess said with a nod. "But better a _thief_ and a _bandit_ than a _coward_ and a _traitor."

"_You _know_ we'd do everything we could to prevent you being locked up," Summer declared with a shake of her head. "But with everything you've done, can you honestly look me in the eye and say that you wouldn't _deserve_ to go back to prison?" She approached Qrow as he looked away in shame, lowering his weapon as he did. "There's still time for you to do the right thing."_

Qrow could only shake his head, a humourless chuckle escaping his lips as that onslaught of flashbacks came to a halt. "...but _you_ never trusted _me,_ did you? Who would trust a traitor, after all? Summer was right. Heck, _Raven_ was right: I've been the biggest hypocrite ever, of all time."

It went without saying that Cinder hadn't been prepared for when Qrow blocked what _would've_ been a sword strike through Penelope's body. "...but that doesn't mean that it's not too late to make things right." Agent Grey declared before turning to Penelope and Jean. "What are you waiting for? Get out of here: NOW!"

Qrow couldn't help but grunt as he was thrown to the ground even as Penelope and Jean made a hasty retreat. "You know the worst part about all this, Cinder? I think on some level, I already knew you would eventually try and stab me in the back. I just can't believe…" He paused as he spotted something in the distance. "...can't believe…" His eyes quickly widened when he realized _exactly_ what he was looking at. "...I can't believe it."

Meanwhile, Raven, currently inside a Manta alongside Yang, Ruby, and a few others, nodded to herself as she spotted Jean and Penelope running away from the Meta as well as the fallen Summer Rose. "There they are: let's try and land next to them."

"Right...land…"

Yang couldn't help but blink at the nervous tone in her wife's voice. "Blake, you _did_ say that you learned how to fly a plane during your time in the White Fang, right?"

Blake merely gave a sheepish grin in reply. "Yes, but unfortunately, I left before I could learn how to _land_ the thing."

Jaune, meanwhile, gave a nervous chuckle. "No need to panic: I'm sure someone else took that class. Would that person please raise their hand _...please?"_

Weiss merely sighed when nobody did. _"This_ is going to _suck…"_

"I know! Ruby and I never got our in-flight peanuts!"

Raven could only shake her head at Nora's commentary. "Ignoring that. BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

The ship smashed into the ice and Blake immediately shut off the thrusters. Everyone screamed in a mixture of pain and terror as the Manta slowly slid towards the medic, who was paralyzed with fear. At last, the ship came to a halt just a few inches in front of Jean.

Jean couldn't help but give a relieved sigh. "That was a close one."

"I _would_ say the cavalry's arrived, but I've never seen a line of horses crash into the battlefield from the sky." Qrow couldn't help but remark.

Penelope, meanwhile, could only give a nervous laugh. "Uh, is it possible for a memory fragment of a Magical Ghost enclosed inside a robotic body to pee her pants? Because I'm pretty sure I just did that."

Qrow merely shook his head in amusement. "Come on, let's see if any of your friends survived."

But as they made their way to the Manta, Qrow managed to spot the footprints forming in the snow. Acting quickly, he took out one of his knives and threw it. Cinder's camouflage faded away as the impact of being hit knocked the containment unit off of her back. Penelope caught the unit just as Ruby freed herself from the Manta and engaged the Meta.

The red-headed android studied the unit before making her decision. "I can get her out…"

Qrow quickly paled at Penelope's declaration. "What? No!"

"It's my only option!"

Qrow shook his head in frustration. "You can't just...I _need_ you: you're my only ticket out of this mess! If you get stuck in there, the authorities will never believe me. _I'm not going back to prison!"_

"I can do it…" Penelope confidently declared.

"I won't let you!"

Penelope couldn't help but glare at Ruby's Uncle. "You can't stop me! Even ignoring any family connections she may or may not have with you, Yang, Ruby, and _me,_ I _have_ to help her: she's here because of us!"

Needless to say, Qrow had _not_ expected to hear that. "Because of me?"

Penelope merely groaned in reply. "Not you, _us!_ Me, and the Summer Maiden, and Jacques!"

Instantly, Qrow knew what was going on. "You've started to remember…"

Penelope nodded in reply. "I found some old journals that belonged to Weiss' old man: she's someone he knew. Someone that, from what I gathered, he _thought_ he loved, but really, it was straight up _obsession._ See, Summer Rose...she _did_ volunteer a copy of her mental patterns for the P.E.N.N.Y. Project, and they _were_ used to try and recreate the Summer Maiden, but then Jacques happened. When he took the Summer Maiden, she came back: she was a byproduct of 'President Schnee's' tampering…"

Qrow shook his head. "Whatever she is, she's not Summer, not really: she's just a shadow…"

"DON'T! Call her that!" Penelope growled out. "Like I said, Jacques was _obsessed_ with her: she nearly died in real life due to Jacques' tampering, having _failed_ to be swayed into his 'good' graces, and that's _all_ he ever remembered of her and those memories were carried over when _his_ mental patterns were added to the mix! So now, no matter how tough she is, no matter how hard she fights, she's always going to FAIL! Because _that's_ what she's based on: the Maiden's FAILURE. No matter what she's doing, or what she's trying to accomplish, _just_ when her goal is within her reach, it gets yanked away. Every. Single. Time. Can you imagine what that's like?!"

Qrow could only gulp as Cinder chose that exact time to get back up, her eyes focused on the Memory Unit as she did. "I think I'm starting to get the idea…"

"Hey, _ugly!" _Ruby cried as she rushed in front of the Meta, slashing at her with Crimson Rose. "Penny, _do it!"_

"I'm going in there." Penelope declared for a final time, prepared to enter the containment unit. "And there is nothing _you _can do to stop me!"

"... alright. We'll cover you for as long as we can." Qrow promised, activating his own scythe. "Good luck."

"Thanks… I'm gonna _need _it." Penelope sighed, suddenly realizing the gravity of her situation. Weiss, Blake, and Yang led the others outside just in time to see Penelope's soul exit her robot body and enter the containment unit.

"She's got this, right?" Yang asked.

"I...I _think_ so." Blake replied, more than a little nervous at the prospect.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Qrow worked together against the Meta. Unfortunately, it was _not_ an easy task considering that, thanks to the Memory Unit, she once again had the powers of a Maiden at her fingertips. Case in point, Cinder managed to catch Harbinger's blade in the palm of her Grimm arm midswing, yanking Qrow's weapon away from him, and sliced his leg with it as she did. In response, Ruby pushed her uncle out of the way and tried to strike Cinder with her own weapon. As it turned out, however, the Meta had been ready for said assault and used the stolen Harbinger to knock Ruby away from her before grabbing Crescent Rose as the hooded huntress fell to the ground, gaining a malicious grin as she did. Needless to say, the hooded huntress could only watch in horror as the Meta shattered her beloved weapon to pieces before her eyes. Thinking quickly, Ruby rolled over to one of Penelope's swords and decided to use it for the time being.

Luckily, Cinder soon came under fire courtesy of Team JNPR while Raven and Team CFVY ran to help Qrow.

"Alright, let's _do _this!" Jaune shouted.

"Charge!" Pyrrha agreed.

"We're gonna fucking _die!" _Ren reasoned, even though he faithfully stood beside his teammates.

"Come on!" Raven ordered her brother. "Ruby needs our help!"

"No, I'm done. But you guys _aren't."_ Qrow gasped as he nursed his wound. He then grabbed the chain hitch from the damaged Warthog and handed the hook to Coco. Then, he gave the fashionista a coy wink. "You know what to do."

Ruby had finally figured out how to reconfigure Penelope's sword into its laser rifle setting and aimed at her opponent. Unfortunately, the recoil was a bit more than she could handle, and flew backwards even as the laser made contact with Cinder. The Meta recovered from the blast and angrily charged at the young woman, only to be cut off by a wave of fire dust.

"Come here, you ugly little bitch!" Raven taunted, using her sword to rapidly fire wave after wave of fire dust at the Meta. But Cinder just brushed the blasts off as if she couldn't even feel them.

"Whoa! What's Yang's _mom _doing?" Nora asked.

"Looks like she's _killing _herself." Ren retorted.

Speaking of which, Raven soon had to place her sword back in it's scabbard to reload, but Cinder managed to catch up and knock it away. The chieftess did her best to fight her hand-to-hand, but quickly found herself overpowered.

Yang meanwhile could only gasp in horror as Cinder grabbed her mother by the throat. "MOM!"

"Stay back!" Raven grunted. "Hey, Arc: I lost my _katana!_ What am I going to do without my _katana?_ _Katana,_ damn it!"

"Katana?" Jaune gasped as he noticed the sword in question had landed by a winch attached to a warthog near a cliff, nodding as he gestures the others to it. "Let's go."

"You know something, Cinder?" Raven managed to choke out upon realizing that Jaune had caught onto her plan. "Earlier you said that I wasn't as good of a leader, as good of a _person,_ as I pretended to be. That I was a fool, and as much as it pains me to admit it, you were right." The Branwen Chieftess just barely held back a grin as those words caused The Meta to loosen her grip a bit. "A good leader is, among other things, _strong, brave,_ and _clever,_ and I'm not ashamed to admit that I've failed at all three of those things. What _strong_ person would even _consider_ abandoning a _child?_ What _brave_ person would run away from her loving family? What _clever_ person would believe that she'd be easily forgiven upon returning to said family nearly two decades after leaving them? I _am_ a fool: a fool for pretending that I could walk away from the fight with Salem, and even _more_ of one for not believing that I wouldn't be pulled into it later...but though I may be a fool, I can take comfort in knowing that _you_ are a bigger one." Despite Cinder's grip tightening around her throat again, Raven couldn't help but chuckle. "A _brave_ person wouldn't need to resort to dirty tricks to take her opponent down, and as for the other two features...well, honestly, if you were _stronger_ or more _clever,_ then maybe...you'd remember to watch your back!"

Cinder arched an eyebrow in confusion just before someone wrapped a chain around her neck and fastened it with a hook. "Hey, Meta! Settle a _bet, _will ya?" Coco smirked as she tightened the chain around the false Maiden's torso. "Does that _thing _over there look like a _big cat _to you?"

Cinder watched in horror as Team JNPR struggled to push the Warthog over the edge of the cliff. The former Agent Crimson screamed in terror as the weight of the military vehicle pulled her along the ice and over the cliff. But before she went over, she managed to grab Jaune. The yellow-clad huntsman to be desperately clung to the edge of the cliff, trying not to fall. Pyrrha jumped and caught his hands just as he was about to lose his grip.

"Ah! Pyrrha, _help!" _Jaune cried.

"Hang on, Jaune!" Pyrrha fearfully felt her hold on Jaune's hands loosening. "Just _hang on! Hang on!"_

"PYRRRRRRHAAAAAA!" Jaune's scream echoed around the canyon as she fell, leaving his teammate heartbroken.

"He's… _gone." _Pyrrha wept.

"Indeed. Jaune is _dead." _Raven lamented. "But he _died _as he _lived: _embarrassing himself for the benefit of others. He _will _be missed."

"Y'know, sometimes in _movies, _when someone falls off a cliff, they manage to grab onto something before falling all the way." Yang suggested.

"Yang, now's not the time." Blake sighed.

"Well, she _does _have a point." Ren agreed. "Maybe we could at least _look over."_

"OH, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" Jaune called from over the edge. "WILL YOU JUST PULL ME UP, ALREADY?!"

Sure enough, Team JNPR found their leader had dug his sword into the ice just in time, and was now dangling above the icy oblivion that awaited him below.

Meanwhile, Ruby was kneeling down beside the containment unit, waiting for Penelope to come out. "Come on, Penny! Come on, don't _do _this to me, again!" She cried. But it was no use. The unit shut down and grew as cold as the ice surrounding it. "... Penny?" Ruby sniffed.

A few hours later, the Atlas military arrived in response to a distress signal one of the SDC workers sent out. Two soldiers found the young teams and were about to arrest them when a familiar looking man in an SDC uniform stepped in front of them. "Uh, it's okay, they're with _me." _Qrow lied. "I was sent to take them directly to Jacques Schnee, himself, for questioning."

"Oh, Mr. Schnee sent you?" One soldier asked. "Must be serious. Okay, you can take one of our Mantas and head on out."

"Much _obliged." _Raven tipped her hat in gratitude, now also in a disguise. She led the kids to the Manta and Blake took the controls for take-off. Once they were a safe distance away, Qrow finally took off his hat and sat beside his niece. Ruby sat with her chin propped up by her fist, looking out the window as the SDC compound - and by extension, Penelope - faded in the distance.

"Why did you guys help me?" Qrow couldn't help but ask. "After everything I've done, I thought you'd be mad."

"I _am_ mad." Ruby declared as she studied Penelope's sword, fondly. "I'm _furious._ But if Yang and Raven have taught me anything; it's that family deserves a second chance."

Qrow nodded, patting her head as he did. "Well, for whatever it's worth... thanks."

Meanwhile, two members of SDC are examining the memory unit.

"Hey, chief? What should we do with this thing?"

"Ah, I can't get it to do anything. We'll hold it in storage until further notice."

What the two soldiers didn't know was that the memory unit wasn't as idle/empty as they might have thought. Case in point, inside the Unit, a city which looked much like Vale but slightly different was slowly being formed, a familiar redhead in a green dress walking down the street, not _quite_ registering the Monkey Faunus that ran past her as it was.

"_I wish I could say that I found her right away." Penelope declared, having decided to try her hand at making those journal entries Gloria/Lori had mentioned later that day. "That I just... walked inside and Summer Rose was waiting for me. As you can guess, it didn't happen that way, but I know she's in here somewhere. And I'll find her. I don't know why Jacques did what he did; I don't know if he was trying to revive a memory from his past, or if he was just trying to get it out of his head. But I learned something he didn't; it took Penny, and Pearl, and all the others to help piece it together for me, but... I learned that a _true_ kind of love is like a good _memory._ When it's there, and you know it's there, but it's just out of reach, it can be all you think about. You can focus on it and try to force it, but the more you do... the more you seem to push it away. But if you're patient and you hold still... maybe... just maybe... it will come to you. I just need to make sure I'm somewhere she can find me. But... I think everything is a little different than I remember. You see, in the beginning, everything was based on the Summer Maiden. Her past lives and the attempt to recreate her. But, in _here..._ I suppose _I'm_ the Summer Maiden. And maybe this time through, things will be a little different for me as well. I guess I'll find out."_

She _did,_ however, notice when a girl clad in white ran into her, a trio of girls, one attempting to hide her cat ears under a bow, one with blonde hair and some rather impressive muscles, and one in a red hood that she couldn't help but think was rather cute, close behind her. "No! He got away!" the girl in white cried out, apparently having not noticed her yet.

The blonde-haired brawler (something about the way she held herself told her that she preferred to solve problems with her fists), however, wasn't as blind to the situation in front of her. "Uh, Weiss?"

Needless to say, the girl in white (apparently named Weiss), was quick to get up in a panic. This however, didn't take away from the redhead's good mood, as evidenced by the way she cheerfully called out. "SALUTATIONS!"

"Um... hello." the cute girl in the red hood declared, apparently feeling a little nervous.

"Are you okay?"

The redhead couldn't help but smile at the blonde's words: something about the mixture of concern and confusion made her think of how she envisioned an older sister would act. "I'm _wonderful:_ thank you for asking."

"Do you...want to get up?"

Here, the redhead looked like she might have blushed under normal circumstances, but was somehow unable to, apparently having just realized that she was still on the ground. "Yes." she declared before hoping to her feet. It was here that the redhead decided to introduce herself. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"_And _besides…"_ Penelope smiled. "If you have to live the rest of your life in a _memory…_ you might as well make it a _good_ one."_

**To Be Continued**


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

"Dammit!" Penelope cursed. Her latest plan to find Summer Rose by altering her memories had failed once again. She had no idea how long she had been inside the containment unit, but she kept telling herself that it didn't matter as long as she could find her. But the whole process of repeating her memories was beginning to get on her nerves. "I can't _believe _that didn't work!"

"I could have _told _you that it wouldn't." Pearl suddenly appeared behind her "sister," as the background of Beacon academy faded into nothing.

"Hey, don't _start _with me, Pearl!" Penelope snapped. "You don't _know _me!"

"Uh, actually I _do, _Penelope. I _am _you."

"I _know _you know! I was being _sarcastic! _Who's the idiot, _now?!"_

"Uh, still _you."_

In an act of pent-up frustration, Penelope delivered a strong right hook to Pearl's jaw. Unfortunately, it seemed to cause her pain as well, as both Maiden fragments recoiled in pain. "Ow!" She groaned. "Man, we are _really _strong."

"Or we both just have a _glass jaw." _Pearl turned back to face Penelope. "So, what did we _learn?"_

Penelope let out a long, tired sigh. "Antagonizing the Doppelgangers is _not _a sure-fire way to keep Summer Rose at Beacon."

"Correct. Although, I would have hoped you'd learned that the _first time _it didn't work."

"Don't you mean _'we?'"_

"Don't _sass _me." Pearl scolded, prompting Penelope to collapse to the ground, exhausted. Pearl just crossed her arms and continued to lecture her. "Hey, we _knew _what we were getting ourselves into when we came in here. Finding Summer Rose isn't going to be _easy. _It's more than likely that we'll just keep repeating our memories _over, _and _over, _and _over, _and _over, _and _over, _and-"

"Okay! I _get _it!" Penelope sat up. "Let's _start over _again."

"Any _new _ideas this time?"

Penelope considered her options for a moment. "... what if we marry _Ruby?"_

Pearl blinked at this. "How will _that _help us?"

Penelope shrugged, nonchalantly. "Well, it'll make _me _feel better."

"... huh, good point." Pearl nodded and disappeared, the memory world was resetting once again even as she smiled, remembering a _different_ relationship that involved a Silver-Eyed Warrior.

_Maria smiled as Winter finished tying some bandages around her eye. "Thanks."_

"_Don't mention it, Bones." Winter remarked, shaking her head as she did. "I'm not sure what angers me more: that you took a bullet for me, that you lost an eye because of it, or that my father...that _Jacques_ doesn't even seem to _care_ that one of our resident Silver-Eyed Warriors is now missing half of her most valuable assets against the Grimm."_

"_Well, I wouldn't be the _first_ of the God of Light's chosen to manage with only one eye - likely won't be the _last_ either - and _you_ of all people know that this won't stop me for long," the Grimm Reaper declared before frowning. "Wait, back up: why are _you_ upset that you're _alive?_ I mean, I thought that it was _okay_ for teammates to protect one another."_

"_It _is,"_ Agent White said with a calming gesture, "It's just...I'd rather _not_ have to deal with you dying in my place, you know?"_

_Maria snorted. "Careful now: one might think you were interested in me, Snow Angel."_

"_And what if I am?"_

_Needless to say, Agent Silver had _not_ been expecting to hear that. "Winter, I...I can't say that I'd be _against_ it, but you _know_ what Project Guardsman, what your _father,_ feels about inter-team relationships, to say _nothing_ about how I'm…"_

"_...a _very_ gorgeous lady that I've had my eye on for quite some time now," Winter interrupted, quickly kissing Maria on the lips before looking her in the eye, an almost desperate look in her own. "Besides, I could care _less_ about what my father...what _Jacques_ thinks. Just...just once, I want to feel like a _woman,_ not a _soldier_ or a _Schnee._ Could you do that for me?"_

"_I'll certainly do my best," Maria said with a smile even as she gave her teammate - now her _lover_ \- a kiss of her own, already undoing their armor as they headed back towards the nearest bedroom, before frowning. "But first: hey, Jewels: would you mind giving us some privacy?"_

"_Of course: preparing to temporarily go off-line now," Pearl declared with a smile. "But first, let me just say congratulations. I always _did_ ship you two."_

The logical Maiden fragment couldn't help but chuckle as she came back to the present. "I've said it before and I'll say it again: Ruby Rose reminds me _so much_ of the late Maria Calevera." She then sighed to herself as she briefly remembered how _that_ story had ended. "Hopefully, things will be different this time around."

Penelope, having experienced the same memory that Pearl had, merely nodded, understanding the double meaning in her sister's words. "Agreed."

As Pearl continued to rematerialize, she saw that Penelope had not wasted any time in creating a world where she and Ruby were happily married. The couple had been sleeping in a king-sized bed with their adopted daughter, in a humble house on the beach of Patch. Penelope had been snuggling with her wife and daughter before Pearl had woken her up. The logic fragment sighed, somberly. "She's not here, Penelope. It's time to move on."

"No, please…" Penelope whispered, desperately. "Just let me stay for a little _longer."_

"I'm sorry." Pearl waved her hand, causing the mindscape to reset once more.

"Hey, as long as we're making timelines where we get a happily ever after, do you think you could make one where Mom and I get to meet up and she _doesn't_ get killed off by Cinder?" Phoebe called out.

"What do you think we've been trying to…?" Paulette quickly cut herself off. "Oh, wait: you were talking about Glynda, weren't you?"

Phoebe nodded, her tears reminding Penelope and the others that Penny hadn't been the only one to suffer throughout this adventure. "Like Yang said, there's nothing saying that I can't have two Moms." she declared, remembering how Agent Purple had come to adopt her, albeit indirectly.

"_Getting awfully chummy with the lightbulb." Tock, Agent Yellow, declared with a scoff._

_Glynda, Agent Purple, couldn't help but snarl at her fellow Guardsmen's words. "Don't you _dare_ insult my daughter like that!"_

"_DAUGHTER!?" practically everyone in the room shouted._

"_You...you really mean it?" Phoebe asked, happy tears in her eyes._

"_Oh, sweetie: you're smart, kind, determined, and cute as a button to boot." Glynda said with a smile, tickling the hologram's chin as she did, getting a tiny giggle as she did. "Honestly, I'd be _honored_ if any flesh-and-blood child of mine turned out to be anything like _you."

"_Ugh, I think I'm going to get diabetes," Maria, Agent Silver, teasingly called out._

"_Shut up, it's cute." Trifa, Agent Blue, declared, smiling even as she accepted some lien from Qrow, Agent Grey._

_Summer, Agent Rose, nodded in agreement. "I'll go ahead and cover for you with Jacques: give you some time for a little one-on-one."_

"_Thanks for that." Glynda said with a smile, turning to Phoebe as she did. "So, what do you want to do now?"_

_Phoebe simply smiled in return. "I'm good with whatever you decide...Mom."_

_Glynda couldn't help but let out a teary eyed smile. "In that case, I hear there's a park nearby: might be worth checking out."_

Phoebe couldn't help but smile as she came back to the present. "She was always so _nice _to me."

Paulette scoffed and crossed her arms. _"Trust." _She sneered. "A _pitiful _and _dangerous _thing to have. I never trusted a _single person _in that damned facility."

"That's a rather _pessimistic _way to live, is it not?" Pearl replied.

"Well, it's not like I'm the _only one _who's had trust issues." Paulette snapped her fingers, shifting the background to a Manta flying into battle. Agent Silver was on a solo recon mission, with only her Maiden fragment to provide her with any support.

"_Hey, Jewels?" Silver called, summoning her "A.I." fragment._

"_Yes, Agent Silver?"_

"_I'm in a bit of a _pickle _here." Silver explained. "I need to get to an altitude low enough to stay out of that fleet's radar, but I've got two _scouts _closing in on me. I have an idea, but I'm gonna need your help."_

"_I am at your service, Agent Silver."_

"_Great. I'm going to cut the engines and let us _drop. _So I need _you _to tell me when we get to the right altitude to switch 'em back on. You think you can do that?"_

"_Well, in order for this plan to succeed, I will need an accurate understanding of your reflexes." Pearl decided. "When I say _'mark,' _you say _'synch.' _Mark."_

"_Synch."_

"_Mark."_

"_Synch."_

"_Excellent. I am fully prepared for this task, Agent Silver." Pearl smiled as her image flickered._

"_Whoa! Pearl, you _okay?" _Maria let go of the controls to cup her hands around the transparent girl, concerned for her fragment's well-being. "What the hell was _that?"

"_Oh, that was _nothing." _Pearl shrugged. "I must have received a _software update."

"_Wait a minute…" Maria squinted, suspiciously. "Did you just make a _backup _of yourself?"_

"_No." Pearl shook her head. "I _tried _to make a backup of myself. But for some reason, my programming prohibits me from performing such a task."_

"_You cheeky little-"_

"_Additionally, the scouts you were concerned about are getting closer. I recommend _evasive actions."

_Maria sighed before taking the controls, again. "We _really _need to work on your social skills, Jewels."_

Coming back to the present, Penelope sighed as the mindscape shifted back to Beacon. "Okay, maybe _this _time, we should get the others involved. Any ideas?"

"Well, there is _one_ thing we can try." Polly declared.

"Uh, I'm not so sure that's a good idea." Patricia remarked.

Understanding what they were talking about, Penelope gave a shrug of acceptance. "Well, digital recreations or not, they're _still_ our friends: it's not like they wouldn't believe us if we told them the truth."

"I _don't_ believe you." Memory Jaune stated.

"I _can't_ believe you." Memory Pyrrha added.

"_I_ don't care." Memory Nora finished. "Honestly, you expect us to believe this is all a _memory world? _What is this; _Inception?"_

Needless to say, Penelope wouldn't have been able to stop the groan that escaped her even if she tried. "Yeah, I was _afraid_ you'd say that. Honestly, what _else_ can go wrong?"

As if to answer her question, a massive earthquake shook the ground. "I _had _to ask." Paulette sneered, bitterly.

"NOOOOOO!" An anguished cry rang out from the school.

"Was that _Ren?" _Penelope asked. "Why is he still _inside?"_

"Ugh, he's still cleaning up the _room." _Nora rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I guess that earthquake spilled something on the floor."

Just then, the aforementioned Memory Ren came running up to the group with a frantic look in his eyes. "Hey! Does anybody have some carpet cleaner, rubber gloves, carpet cleaner, a plastic bucket of water, carpet cleaner, a power vacuum, carpet cleaner, and a _wet rug sign?"_

"You said 'carpet cleaner' _four times." _Penelope pointed out.

"Oh, no! Only _four?! _I better say it again! Just to make sure nobody I love dies!"

"Ren! Calm down!" Memory Nora ordered, slapping her friend across the face. "It better not have been the _crock pot _I was using to steam my broccoli that spilled! Or else there'll be hell to pay!"

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa. _Hold on, this isn't right." Penelope was wondering if this was how Weiss felt when she and Penny went into Ruby's mind. "Ren is supposed to be _lazy. _And Nora isn't some kind of _serious warrior _who eats _healthy foods! _She eats _pancakes!"_

"Hogwash! Baseless slander!" Memory Nora shouted, slapping the Memory Maiden across the face. "Pancakes are empty carbs!"

Just then, another earthquake shook the ground, prompting Team JNPR to run away. Penelope regained her footing and turned to her sisters. "Pearl, what's going on?!"

"I think we've been in here _too long." _The Logic Maiden replied, fearfully. "This memory unit has been running on reserve power ever since we got here, but that was always a _finite_ charge. Once this memory unit dies, _we _will perish along with it."

"We… we're gonna _die?" _Phoebe trembled as she hugged Pamela.

"No. Pearl doesn't know what she's talking about. We'll be fine." Pamela lied, for once grateful that she was the Maiden's Deceit.

"Perhaps we can still _escape _before it's too late." Priscilla offered, optimistically.

"We _can't; _at this point, the unit can only be opened from the _outside." _Pearl explained. "All we can do now is make our peace and wait to be reunited with the true Summer Maiden."

"Technically, aren't you _all _the true Summer Maiden?" A voice asked. The fragments all turned around to see the Memory of Summer Rose standing behind them.

"Oh, _now_ you show up?!" Penelope couldn't help but growl out.

"This wouldn't have been the _first_ time Jacques had tried using someone I cared about to try and trap me, or have you forgotten about how I mentioned that he had used _Willow,_ his own _wife,_ to trap the _original_ Summer Rose? I had to be absolutely certain that you were _really_ Penelope Polendena." Robo-Summer declared before pulling the girl into a hug, tears flowing from her eyes. "It's good to see you again...my daughter."

"It's good to see you too...Mom," Penelope remarked as she returned the hug, likewise crying tears of joy. The other fragments couldn't help themselves, and joined the hug.

Sometime later, after separating from the other occupants of the memory unit, Summer sighed as the tremors they were feeling began to increase in intensity and the sky started to split open. "I guess this is it."

Penelope merely nodded in reply. "Yeah; hey, uh, Mom… _Summer:_ there's something I need to tell you: something, if this _is_ the end, that I _need_ to say."

"Whoa, wait a second," Summer declared, hands raised in a calming manner. "I can take the whole 'at peace with the world' thing, and I can even stomach all the 'accept your fate' stuff...and truth be told, I would jump at the chance to adopt you, so you don't have to stop calling me 'Mom' if that is indeed something you want, but... just do me a favor, okay? Don't say goodbye: I _hate_ goodbyes; I mean, we are huntresses, right? We should try to maintain _some_ level of credibility."

Penelope couldn't help but give a bitter chuckle even as she did her best to _not_ look her in the eye for this discussion. "No, no, no, Summer...Mom, no: I think I just figured out what Jacques couldn't. What the Summer Maiden, the _original_ Penny couldn't either: it was _you,_ Summer, all along. See I thought...I thought _we_ made _you:_ what with Jacques, and the fragments... but that's not the case. _You_ made _us:_ when the Summer Maiden was kidnapped, for lack of a better term, you just kinda came along for the ride. You gave Jacques the idea that he could make something more: that he could split the Summer Maiden up. Don't you get it? You were the memory: you were the key. You were so strong, you made a whole other person. Gods, he always wanted to find you. You know, to get you 'right': to _own_ you, and he wanted _me_ to be able to do the same: to find you in here and... just, go down another iteration: figure out this little 'Summer problem': figure out how to do it 'right', make it 'perfect', and while I can only hope that Ruby and the others will be able to rescue the _real_ Summer Rose, in the here and now, I finally understand: I know how to fix all of this: how to _truly_ end it once and for all."

Penelope couldn't help but shake her head in a sense of dry amusement. "It was so simple all along: I just had to tell you four words: four words I wasn't capable of telling you before."

"Oh, okay, wait a minute... are you gonna say 'I love you, Mom?' Because I already know you do, and the feeling is mutual."

Penelope gave a humorless sigh. "I appreciate it, but no Mom...Summer. No, I'm not gonna say I love you, no matter how true it is: ...I'm gonna say I forget you, Summer." The Maiden's Memory couldn't help but let out an oily tear even as she allowed a relieved smile to grace her features, fully aware that Summer Rose was no longer standing next to her. "I'm forgetting you: I'm letting you go: I'm setting you free."

She then sighed looking to the sky as she did. "Okay, world: I'm ready to die now: do your worst!" She then looked down, a somber expression on her face. "My only regret: I'll never get to see Ruby, the _real_ Ruby, or the others, ever again."

"It's opening: it's working!"

Needless to say, Penelope couldn't help but blink in shock upon hearing Velvet's voice. "Wait, what?!"

Velvet could only smirk as she seemingly appeared in the sky. "I see her: she's okay!"

"Is that...Velvet?!" Memory Jaune called out.

Not long after, Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi showed up alongside their tech-savvy comrade. This further confused the other members of Memory JNPR. "Team CFVY are the _gods?" _Nora asked.

"That would explain the _fuck _out of _porn." _Memory Ren snorted. "Holy shit, does that mean the kama sutra is, like… the _Bible?!"_

Memory Coco, meanwhile, merely smirked in reply. "I knew it: I _knew_ my honey bunny was an angel!"

"You'll, uh, have to explain what you're seeing: all _I_ see is a bunch of glowing wires." Yatsuhashi stated, confused.

Velvet merely nodded. "Yeah, but the fact that they're glowing _alone_ is proof that she's still alive!"

Penelope, meanwhile, let out a startled gasp, tears of joy in her eyes as she suddenly realized what was going on. "This...this is... the memory unit _isn't_ dying: this _isn't_ the end of the world: this is a rescue attempt! I'm going home! _We're _going home!" The Maiden's memory turned around to see her sisters fading away. "Guys…? Guys, what's wrong?"

"Have you learned _nothing?" _Paulette scolded. "We are all _long dead! _We only existed herebecause you _remember _us!"

"Ahem, what Paulette is _saying…" _Pearl patted Penelope on the shoulder, offering a comforting smile. "Is that we'll _always _be a part of you. You just have to remember us."

Penelope wiped away a stray tear as she felt herself being pulled back into the real world. "I doubt I could ever _forget you, _sisters." She declared, watching her "sisters" smile as she left.

As Penelope came to, she couldn't stop herself from coughing, but quickly gained a smile nonetheless. "Ah, genuine fresh air: _much_ better than the pixelated variety." She then froze, realizing what she had just said. "Wait: I'm a ghost: I don't _need_ to breathe: what...how...?"

"Uh, how about you save the existential crisis for _after_ we've dealt with all these soldiers?"

"Wait, what?!" Penelope shook her head, taking in what Qrow had said before sighing. "Okay, I _think_ I can understand that there are some people who did _not_ want me set free, but that just makes me wonder: how _did_ you get me out? I mean, I didn't think you were _that_ good with technology, Velvet. ...wait: that didn't come out right."

Velvet, however, merely gave a light chuckle in reply, giving someone else in the room a nod of appreciation as she did. "It's fine: truth be told, _she_ gave me a bit of help. Thanks for that, by the way."

"No problem."

"Wait, you?!" Penelope gasped, turning towards the source of the voice. "But… but you're supposed to be _dead!"_

"Reports of my death were _greatly _exaggerated. It'll take a lot more than _Cinder _to keep me down for good." Winter Schnee, Agent White, declared with a chuckle.

"AH! PENNY!" A voice cried out. Penelope turned and nearly stumbled backwards in shock. Ruby Rose, the love of her life, was wearing a new outfit similar to her own. The Summer Maiden barely had any time to blush before she (ironically) found herself on the receiving end of a hug-tackle, Ruby's modest bust pressing against her face. "I WAS SO WORRIED!"

"Uh, R-Ruby?"

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE FOR GOOD!"

"Ruby, _please-"_

"BUT THEN WEISS' HOT SISTER TOLD US WHERE YOU WERE!"

"Ruby, this is _embarrassing!"_

"AND NOW WE FOUND YOU! AND EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY, FOREVER!"

"RUBY! PLEASE, GET OFF!"

Meanwhile, Qrow waited, patiently, for Jean and Ciel to return to their temporary base with the others. Velvet had called ahead just a few minutes ago requesting back up on their mission to retrieve Penelope, but things weren't looking good. "Man, if we get through this without the others, it'll be more shocking than when Raven managed to get together with Taiyang via pun usage."

"Wait, _what?" _Yang's eyes widened in shock. "Mom told _Dad _a joke?! What _was _it?! I need to _know!"_

The younger twin crossed his arms and flashed his sister a smug grin. "If _you _don't tell her, _I _will."

Raven groaned and turned towards her daughter, uncomfortably. The chieftess was barely able to maintain eye contact as she forced her confession from her lips. "I just… I went up to him and said… 'Hey, Tai, is your semblance driving women _crazy?_ Because you're making me... _STRQ Raven mad.'"_

Yang cupped a hand over her mouth to contain her obnoxious snort, but it was no use. The blonde brawler fell to the ground, kicking and screaming from laughter; never in her life would she have expected her mother to make such a pun. "This is the _best _fucking day of my _life!" _She wheezed.

"Oh, _get up!" _Raven blushed. "It wasn't even _funny!"_

"It was funny enough for _Tai, _apparently." Qrow chuckled. "What was it he said after that? 'I have never wanted any woman more than I have _right now?'"_

"I swear to _gods, _Qrow, I will punch you in the _throat." _She threatened, before her eyes widened, apparently spotting someone her brother hadn't. "Look out!" she called out, pushing him out of the way before using her sword to unleash a stream of dust, knocking the would-be assailant out.

As it turned out, however, Qrow still had some trouble with trusting his sister, as evidenced by the glare he gave his twin. "Don't think for a _minute_ that this means that I…"

Raven meanwhile interrupted him with a scoff. "Oh, _I'm_ sorry: I didn't realize that 'saving your life' was a criminal offense."

Yang nodded in agreement. "Yeah, give her some credit: she's at least _trying_ to make up for accidentally killing the last Spring Maiden, abandoning me and Dad, and then nearly getting me and Ruby killed while selfishly trying to escape a criminal record that's looking more and more like something one might actually deserve. Oh, wait: that last part would actually apply to _you,_ wouldn't it?"

"Uh, excuse me? I think we've got other things to worry about," Blake deadpanned as she gestured to the soldiers that they were still dealing with, before blinking. "Speaking of 'we', where's everyone else?"

"At the moment, working on our extraction," Winter remarked. "They actually should be here right about…" ...and that was all the warning anyone got before a Warthog driven by Nora and carrying the rest of Team JNPR came in over the next hill, taking out the rest of the soldiers as she did. "...now."

Needless to say, Nora was feeling a bit smug regarding her accomplishment, as evidenced by how she turned off the radio and gave the group a smug grin. "Sup?"

Raven merely cleared her throat. "Not that we don't appreciate the timely arrival, I thought for _sure_ that the others were behind you."

Yang scratched her head. "Yeah, Mom's right: what happened to everyone else?"

Ren quirked an eyebrow in reply. "That's odd: they were supposed to be right behind us."

"We're here!" Jean declared as she _slowly_ drove in her own Warthog carrying everyone else onto the site.

Needless to say, the fact that Jean had been playing classical music did nothing to take away Jaune's deadpan glare. _"Wow:_ nice entrance, buddy: _very_ thrilling."

"Yeah, we're never letting her drive again...or if we do, we're riding with _you_ guys." Svetlana declared even as she crossed her arms to further showcase her irritation.

"I can't believe you stopped at the train tracks!" Ciel agreed.

"It's the law!" Jean declared.

"We were under fire!" Mikhail growled out.

Jean at least had the decency to look sheepish. "It's still the law…"

"Jean, only _you_ would find a way to make a high-speed chase _boring." _Yang sighed before turning to everyone else. "All those in favor of taking away Jean's driving privileges?" Needless to say, Jean herself was the only one who didn't vote in favor of that suggestion.

"Well, Jean's stupidity aside, I'm glad that everyone's safe." Raven declared, before frowning as Ciel approached her. "Uh, can I help you?"

"You already did." And that was all the warning the Brawnwen Chieftess got before the French girl wrapped her arms around her. "I heard what you, Coco, and Team JNPR did. My father can finally rest in peace now that the Meta's gone. Thank you for that."

Raven just gave a dry chuckle as she patted the girl on the back. "For what it's worth, you'll _always_ have a place with us."

Penelope couldn't help but smile at this display, taking in the group as she did, before giving a light frown. "...not that it's not good to see you guys again, and I appreciate you getting me out of that memory unit, but I get the feeling that my rescue isn't _entirely_ because of our friendship, or in the case of Yang, Ruby, and Weiss, a sort of pseudo-sibling bond."

"Pseudo-sibling bond?"

Weiss merely gave her sister a shrug. "What can I say? Even taking our father's schemes out of the equation, Penny's like the little sister I've always wanted."

Winter simply gave a shrug of her own. "Touche, though I hope she isn't too offended that I'm not in too much of a hurry to call her 'sis.'"

Penelope nodded. "Fair enough." She then frowned. "Man, I just realized how completely messed up my family tree is."

"Tell me about it." Ruby said with a shake of her head before clearing her throat. "Anyways, to answer your unspoken question, Penny, Winter here wants to find her father, who seems to have gone into hiding in recent years: seeing how he implanted some of his memories into you, you might know where he is…"

Velvet blinked. "Wow, she actually summarized that fairly well: from what Blake told me, I thought for _sure_ that there would be something that you might not have underst-"

"...and when we find him, we can have a nice family reunion and resolution between him, Weiss, and Winter like we had with Yang and Auntie Raven."

Velvet just sighed. "...and _there_ it is."

Weiss could only give a sad smile. "Ruby, I love you, and your constant hope for a peaceful resolution is one of the _many_ reasons why, but there's a _big_ difference between Raven and _Jacques:_ as many mistakes as she's made, even _Qrow_ can't deny that unlike our deadbeat dad, she _actually_ cares about people other than herself."

Hearing this, Qrow gained a glare and made as to deny that statement…only to pause to think about that, letting out a groan as he did. "Dammit, she's right: between the two, Raven's actually the better person…"

Yang couldn't help but share a smirk with her mother. "Nice to know you can admit that she's not a _Jacques."_

Penelope joined the others in groaning at Yang's pun, before nodding to herself as she thought over Winter's plan. "I'll do what I can, but it'll take some time: I might have Mr. Schnee's memories, but I don't exactly remember how to _access_ them, if that makes sense."

Winter merely nodded in reply. "Qrow _did_ warn me that you had suffered some damages so I'm not _too_ surprised: for now, let's get going. It's only a matter of time before reinforcements arrive, so let's not dilly dally."

Meanwhile, Jacques Schnee sat in his office in Atlas' capitol. The malevolent CEO was currently engaged in a conference call with General Ironwood regarding their current situation. "This is _your _fault, James!" He snapped. "If you could have kept your people on a tighter leash, we wouldn't be _having _this conversation!"

"Who's fault it is is _hardly _relevant at this moment, Schnee." Ironwood replied. "Right now, we need to focus on what we're going to _do _about it. My men tell me that the Memory Fragment escaped _three hours _ago, and they have reason to believe that a pair of _Guardsmen _were responsible for aiding in her release. One of them claims to have seen a _woman _dressed in white."

"Winter…" Jacques sneered. "I should have _known _she'd survive. If, for no other reason, just to _spite _me. I'm _so close, _James. I just need _more time. _If _I _go down, they'll take _you _with me."

"I understand, sir. Leave it to me." The general ended the call and stood up from his seat. As he made his way across the room, he paused to gaze at a portrait of himself and Winter from when she entered Project Guardsman. "I'm _sorry, _Winter. But I _cannot _protect Atlas from behind bars."

The general took out his scroll to contact all agents under his command. "Time to get to work."

**To Be Continued**


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

_Years ago, __Jacques Schnee, currently enjoying the power he'd gained following the ejection of one Professor Ozpin from _his_ Project, could be found giving a lecture about his "A.I." program to the members of Project Guardsman. "Of course, our A.I. units are what we call 'fragments,' so there's very little chance that a personality subroutine can run off unchecked."_

_General Ironwood, who was assisting in said lecture, then turned to the group. "Are there any questions?_

_Tock - Agent Yellow - merely scoffed in reply. "Yeah, _I've_ got a question: why do we need to learn all this stuff?"_

_Winter - Agent White - then cleared her throat. "A.I. theory is like vehicle maintenance, Yellow: if we're going to use this equipment, _any_ equipment, we need to know how to care for it." She leveled a glare at her father. "After all, it'd be a _real_ shame if Mr. Schnee's merchandise was damaged." Realizing what she said, she then winced before looking to the present A.I. fragments. "Sorry, that didn't come out right…"_

_Phoebe merely smirked in reply. "It's fine, Winter: I know you didn't mean it like that…"_

_Pearl shrugged. "No offence taken, though I would request that you not take out your aggression towards your father out on us…"_

_Priscilla, meanwhile, gave a bitter chuckle. "Hey, it's not like you're _wrong_ about how President Schnee views us…"_

_Tock couldn't help but chuckle as Jacques leveled a glare at Winter, giving a fake smile while all this was going on. "Aw, that's so _sweet:_ Agent White is bonding with the toasters…"_

_Pearl briefly flashed Phoebe, who had shrunk in on herself upon hearing that remark, a comforting smile before glaring at Tock. "Now _that_ was just _rude…"

_Tock merely scoffed in reply. "Cry me a river, light bulb."_

_Winter, however, let out a growl upon hearing this. "You _know_ they are _far_ more advanced than _that…"

"_What I _know_ is that I don't even _have_ an A.I. because _somebody_ didn't bring enough to share," Agent Yellow declared, leveling her _own_ glare at Jacques as she did. "Which makes me wonder: what am I even _doing_ here, sitting through this Elementary School bullshit?"_

"_Need I remind you that I don't have one either?" Agent White asked with a roll of her eyes._

_Maria - Agent Silver - couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Uh, no offense, Princess, but do _I_ need to remind _you_ that you gave yours to Agent Crimson?"_

_Winter gave her girlfriend and lover a smirk. "It's fine, Bones, and in my defense, she needed Priscilla more than I did after that last mission of ours temporarily robbed her of the ability to speak."_

"_Yeah, we _all_ know that's not the _only_ reason you gave it to her." Tock declared, nodding to an irritated Jacques as she did. _"Real_ hero material, White." She gave a smug grin in Cinder's direction. "Besides, it's not like Crimson's got much to say right now."_

_Priscilla took this moment to clear her throat, giving a growling Cinder - Agent Crimson - a calming gesture as she did. "I feel it's necessary to point out how appreciative the two of us are for Agent White's generosity." She gave Winter a smile. "Besides, I'd like to think that if _anyone_ could excel without an A.I. unit, it would be _her."

_Winter smirked. "Thanks, Priscilla."_

"_Well, her and Agent Rose, though I suppose that goes without saying…"_

_Agent White couldn't help but groan in response to the teasing grin she got. "Thanks, Priscilla."_

_Upon hearing this, however, Glynda - Agent Purple - couldn't help but blink. "Actually, that reminds me: where _is_ Agent Rose?"_

_Jacques scoffed. "Agent Rose does not require this training."_

_General Ironwood leveled a glare at Winter's father. "What President Schnee _means_ to say is that she's already finished her theory course work." He then cleared his throat. "I think that's enough for today."_

"_If I may, General," Priscilla called out, "I _do_ have one last question."_

_Maria Calevera wouldn't have been able to contain her sigh even if she had tried. "Oh, boy…"_

_Priscilla, however, chose to ignore that. "It's regarding the different levels of A.I. awareness and rampancy, specifically the final stage."_

"_Meta-stability?"_

_Priscilla nodded to confirm Ironwood's suspicion. "Yes, I believe you and President Schnee stated how, in the meta stage, an A.I. could be considered most human…"_

"_Yes, that _is_ true," James declared, "but so far no A.I. has ever reached that stage. At the moment, it's purely theoretical…"_

"_...but still possible," Priscilla declared with a smile. "I find that very interesting."_

_Needless to say, General Ironwood didn't share her enthusiasm, as evidenced by the flat look he gained. "Be that as it may, as an A.I. _fragment,_ something of that magnitude would be _far_ more difficult…"_

_Priscilla merely shrugged in reply. "Well, for all our differences, I find myself agreeing with President Schnee when he says that it's good to have ambition."_

_Jacques couldn't help but smile upon hearing this. "Indeed it is: class dismissed."_

_As everyone exited the room, Pearl couldn't help pause upon noticing that Cinder, and by extension Priscilla, had yet to leave and in fact was re-arranging the symbols that indicate all the A.I. fragments available in front of her. "Priscilla, are you and Cinder coming?"_

_Priscilla simply paused the holographic rearranging with a self-satisfied smile. "Yes, we will be joining you shortly." As the trio left however, the symbol that Priscilla created continued to flicker in a rather ominous fashion. Little did they know that years later that symbol would be synonymous with the rogue Guardsman known simply as "The Meta."_

Back in the present, Winter and Qrow had been leading the group across Remnant for almost two weeks, now. Using their encyclopedic knowledge of the SDC and its outposts, the group had been systematically invading every outpost in search of any information on Jacques' whereabouts. Ever eager to please her older sister, Weiss put herself to work looking for any computer console and information port she could find.

Unfortunately, her teammates were being less than helpful at the moment. As evident by how Yang currently had Blake pinned against a wall, their lips locked in a furious make-out session.

"Yang! Could you _stop _being gay for Blake for _two seconds _and give me a hand?!" She shouted. In response, Yang detached her prosthetic limb without unlocking her lips with Blake and threw it at Weiss' feet. Needless to say, Weiss felt her blood pressure rising. "Ah, _ha, _ha, ha, ha. Yeah, that's… that's very funny but _THIS IS SERIOUS!"_

Meanwhile, Ren and Nora were keeping watch outside their temporary base, looking out for any of the SDC's soldiers. "Hey, Nora?"

"Yeah, Ren?"

"Do you ever wonder why we're _here?"_

"... is this another _philosophy _question?"

"No! I mean… ugh." Ren rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Okay… we are all _officially _enemies of the Atlas government, we've been kicked out of our school before we even had a chance to _graduate, _we're now working alongside a man who tried to _kill _us, and to top it all off, this is all because Weiss' sister wants us to help her take down some old rich guy we don't even _know!"_

"Well, uh…" Nora scratched her head as she tried to think of an answer to her boyfriend's stressful question. "Well, Weiss said that her dad was the one who helped create Project Guardsman in the _first place. _And if Project Guardsman is the reason we're enemies of the Atlas government, then we're helping stop them before they hurt anyone else! So, if you think about it, _they're _the reason we're here!"

"I… huh, I _guess _that makes sense." Ren admitted. "But what _is _this place, anyway?"

"I think Penelope said it used to be one of the SDC's warehouses, so it should have a computer with information on it."

"Still, Winter's starting to get on my _last nerves." _Jaune commented as he and Pyrrha joined the childhood sweethearts. "All she does is _boss _everybody around."

"I agree." Pyrrha nodded. "She's just _using _us. It's like she doesn't even know who we are or what we're _capable _of."

"I know _exactly _who you all are." Winter replied, startling Team JNPR. The former Guardsman circled the young huntsmen team, judging them with her eyes. "Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie; two orphans from the ruined village of Kuroyuri. During an attack by a Nuckelavee, Ren discovered his semblance could hide auras from all types of Grimm, giving the two of them a chance to escape. Soon afterwards, Nora was struck by a bolt of _lightning, _unlocking _her _semblance to channel electrical charges through her body and convert it into _muscle mass."_

"Hey, that's kind of _personal." _Ren replied as he hugged Nora for comfort. "I lost my _family _that day."

"Is that _relevant?"_

Ren hardened his glare. "It was a _traumatic event."_

"So, _no." _Winter turned to Pyrrha. "Pyrrha Nikhos. Graduate of _Sanctum Academy, _top of the class, and consecutive winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament for _four years. _Very impressive."

"Oh, uh, _thank _you." Pyrrha smiled, modestly.

"And also a _sellout _to Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes cereal." Winter added. "Additionally, she resents her own status and talents; blaming them for her inability to form any meaningful relationships."

Jaune grew angry at the sight of Pyrrha's saddened face. "Hey, that's crossing a _line, _lady! I don't care who you-!"

Winter grabbed Jaune's arm and twisted it behind his back, stopping him. "And that brings us to _Jaune Arc, _the _'leader' _of Team JNPR." She stated with distaste. "Latest in a long line of decorated huntsman, youngest of _eight, _and a rather _pitiful _excuse for a huntsman, himself. Faked his transcripts to get into Beacon Academy, didn't even unlock his semblance until he was being _bullied…" _She pulled Jaune's sword out of his scabbard and snorted. "And I half-expected it to be made of _wood."_

She released the young huntsman, ignorant of his depressed expression. "You are all, without a doubt, the _worst _huntsmen and huntresses I have ever _met." _She declared. "But _this _is your chance to make yourselves _useful. _So stop _whining, _and await my orders."

"... I don't like her." Nora stated as Winter walked away. "She is a _rude bitch."_

"If you'd like, you could all move to New Rushland with _us _when this is over." Svetlana offered, coming out of the base. "Mikhail and I would _love _having some neighbors."

Team JNPR was startled by her sudden appearance. "How long were you-?"

"The whole time." Svetlana answered before Nora could finish her question. "But in all seriousness, you _are _all invited to come and build yourselves a home in New Rushland."

"We… just may take you up on that offer." Ren replied as he subconsciously prepared a back-up plan for when they failed to find Jacques.

Meanwhile, Winter had secretly been keeping an ulterior motive from the others for coming to this particular warehouse. According to her intel, it was in this warehouse that her former lover - Agent Silver - fell to the hands of Tock and the Meta. In spite of the severity of the mission, the seasoned Guardsman desired to pay her respects to the dead.

"Was that _really _necessary?" Maria's voice called out.

Winter could only blink, for a moment seeing her old lover where Ruby was standing, the young girl having apparently witnessed her dressing down of Team JNPR, before shaking her head. "Maybe, maybe not, but I'm not sure you realize how serious…"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you _right_ there," Yang declared, approaching her sister with her fellow teammates as she did. "As happy as I am to have Holly in my life, considering how she was conceived and how I lost an arm before that happened, to say _nothing_ about how _your_ family held _my_ mother against her will...well, you'll have to forgive me if I don't think you _really_ care about us."

Agent White, not knowing how to respond to this, simply scoffed before turning to leave. "I'm going for a walk."

Weiss could only sigh as Winter walked off. "Penny, could you follow her?"

Penelope couldn't help but blink in surprise here. "Of course, but if you don't mind me asking, why? I thought you trusted your sister?"

Weiss merely shrugged in reply. "I _do,_ or rather I _want to,_ but with what happened with Qrow Branwen, I'd rather be certain that Winter _is_ still my sister, you know?"

"Fair enough." Penelope declared, abandoning her robot body to hitch a ride on Winter's Mongoose.

Sometime later, Winter, having found the spot where Maria - Agent Silver - supposedly died, couldn't help but let out a tear. "I'm sorry, Bones: I should have trusted you more. It's just...I don't understand: how'd you do it? How'd you know to trust _Summer?"_

"Well she _was_ supposed to be Ruby and Yang's mother: why _wouldn't_ she?" Penelope gained a sheepish grin as Winter turned to glare at her. "I'm guessing that was a rhetorical question…"

"What are _you_ doing here?!" Winter growled out before holding up a hand as Penelope opened her mouth. "Wait: don't tell me: you want some information."

"Actually, no," Penelope declared with a shake of her head. "The others were getting worried about you: _Weiss_ was getting worried about you."

"Wait, what?"

Penelope shrugged. "Is that so hard to believe? She's your sister, and after the stunt that Qrow pulled, she… _they_ want to make sure that they can trust you."

Winter let out a bitter laugh. "Well, give them some advice from me and tell them not to; after all, I don't trust _anyone_ anymore."

Penelope gasped. "You...you don't mean that…"

"You don't have a clue, do you?" Winter declared with a scoff. "You and your friends just think I'm some blood-thirsty merc with a bad attitude. But you know what? You're wrong. I'm _much_ worse." She shook her head as she took out a knife out of her pocket and stared at it, almost able to hear the laughter of the one who used to own it. "You know, I had a team once. A team with the best training, the best equipment, and despite everything that they had that made them the best, they still lied, and stole, and tore each other to pieces!" She leveled a glare at Penelope as she angrily closed her fingers around the knife. "So you tell me: how the _hell_ am I supposed to trust a bunch of reckless idiotic children when I couldn't even trust the people that were close to me?!"

Penelope answered with a glare of her own. "Tell me: is _Weiss_ included in that grouping of yours? Is _she_ on your kill list?"

When Winter's only answer was to give a startled blink, Penelope couldn't help but shake her head in disgust. "I was afraid that's how you'd answer that: you and Jacques have more in common then you think…"

Instantly, Winter paled, realizing the _real_ reason for Penelope's earlier gasp. "Wait, that's not...I'd never…" And yet, as she looked back down at a certain switchblade in her hand, she couldn't help but shake her head, an angry growl escaping her. "Just...just leave me alone, okay?"

Penelope merely nodded. "Fair enough, but just so you know, well, I don't remember _everything,_ but I _do_ remember enough to know that by time Project Guardsmen was ending, you'd manage to successfully push away everyone you'd ever cared for, and from the looks of things, are on the fast track to doing it all over again: I hope you're happy."

"_Winter!? What do you think you're doing?!"_

_Winter - Agent White - could only frown upon hearing those words from Maria - Agent Silver. "That's _my_ line: what are _you_ doing helping _Summer,_ if that's even her real name?! She's just Jacques' personal hit-woman: the moment she, and by extension my deadbeat dad, are done with you, they're just going to put a bullet right between your eyes!"_

"_Wait, is _that_ what you think is happening?!" Maria asked with wide eyes. "Who told you that load of elephant droppings!?" She then shook her head. "Wait, never mind: not important right now. Listen: things are a _lot_ more complicated than anything you might be guessing."_

"_I don't _care!"_ Winter growled out. "Even if you're right and she's some sort of multiple agent or something: Jacques is _my_ father, so it's _my_ job to kill him, so get out of my way so I can stop her from getting in the way." She looked down, letting just the _tiniest_ bit of doubt enter her voice as she did. "I _have_ to."_

_Maria, however, just shook her head. "No you don't: you can come with us: you don't _have_ to do this alone: we can help you: you trust me, right?"_

"_Always." Winter said with a light grin before instantly gaining a glare as she raises her weapon. "...but it's clear _you_ don't trust _me!"

_Winter charged with her sword, fighting with a ferocity that Maria was not unfamiliar with. The "Grimm Reaper" did her best to dodge her lover's attacks, not wanting to do any harm, herself. But eventually, she realized there was no peaceful way to stop Agent White. She took out her scythes and tried to disarm the enraged agent, but it was no use. Winter was famous for always keeping a strong grip on her sword during battle. For a moment, Maria considered using her silver eye to blind her, but shrugged it off as futile. Suddenly, Winter managed to slip behind Maria, grabbing her switchblade and stabbing it into her flesh._

_Maria couldn't help but cry out in pain as she was _literally_ stabbed in the back. "Winter…"_

_Despite everything, Winter couldn't help but flinch at the betrayed tone in her now-ex-lover's voice. With a remorseful sigh, she placed a switchblade with the word "Kuroyuri" written on it by her side, knowing that she didn't deserve to carry it right now. "I'm sorry…" she managed to say before leaving to confront Summer - Agent Rose - even as Maria reaches for said switchblade._

Winter couldn't help but let a tear fall from her eye as she came back to the present, knowing full well that she only got that knife back because she had taken it from her corpse after stumbling upon it following her former lover's final confrontation with Tock - Agent Yellow. Thinking back upon how Ruby, Weiss, and the others had been nothing but sweet to her, she almost broke out sobbing. "No: I'm not happy at all…"

"Winter?" Penelope suddenly called out.

Winter turned away with a scowl. "I'm done talking to you…" She refused.

Penelope, refusing to give up, concentrated on her memories. "Winter, I think I found something that you might want to see."

Winter scoffed and reluctantly turned to face the Maiden. "Really? What might that be?"

Suddenly, Penelope's aura changed from light green to a bright blue. "A memory." Pearl replied.

Winter gasped at the familiar face. "Pearl?!"

Pearl's aura flickered. "We must be brief. Penelope is struggling to remember."

"Remember what?" Winter quirked an eyebrow as Pearl focused. "Pearl?"

The eldest Schnee daughter gasped in shock as Pearl's image changed into that of Agent Silver. Maria smiled as she had Pearl record her message. _"Good evening, world! It's a beautiful Monday night and I'm here with another adrenaline pumping journal entry, courtesy of our friend, Pearl."_

Winter felt tears stinging her eyes. "It can't be…"

Pearl's voice was heard off-screen as the message continued. _"Maria, please, documentation is an important part of-"_

Maria scoffed. _"Yeah, yeah. Jeez, sorry if I wanted to lighten the mood a little…" _The silver-eyed warrior cleared her throat before continuing. _"So today, I intercepted some interesting messages from our friends working for Jacques Schnee. It sounds like someone is causing him a bit of trouble. Old news, I know, but here's the interesting part - hey, Jewels? You mind giving me a drum roll?"_

Pearl sighed. _"Fine, but just this once."_ The Logic Maiden imitated the sound of a drum roll.

Maria smiled and went on. _"He said 'It's high time I curbed this rebellious phase of hers.' That's right: someone who makes a habit of messing with old Kernel Sanders' evil twin - and a _lady _to boot - is causing many a disturbance. Someone who was part of this from the beginning, and if you know me, you know my money's on the hottest Ice Queen I've ever met... Well, if I _had_ any money... Also, on the off-chance you end up seeing this, Snow Angel, I'm sorry for the 'Ice Queen' comment. I know how much you hated hearing that from Qrow."_

Winter smiled, tearfully, even as she tried to suppress a blush. "It's fine, Bones. I actually kind of like it when _you _say it."

Suddenly, a new recording of Maria came on. _"Still no ID on our little troublemaker, but given what I know about Tock's last location, I'm fairly certain the odds are in my favor."_

Again Pearl's voice came from off-screen._ "Not trying to discourage you, but the odds of Agent White's survival are-"_

Maria interrupted her Maiden fragment with a groan. _"In other news, Pearl's track record of remembering Winter's record of beating the odds _continues_ to be nonexistent."_ The image briefly vanished before reappearing. _"So when I meet up with her again, I've narrowed down my openers to two options. Okay, Pearl, tell me what you think. _One;_ Hey, Winter: if I offered to warm you up, would you take offense to it? Or-"_

Pearl scoffed. _"Maria, _please_ focus."_

Maria shrugged. _"What? Playful banter is a natural part of conversation, Jewels. Hey, did I ever tell you about how Winter and I first met? See, I was out one night with some friends, and somehow they ended up ditching me at this ridiculous performance hall in Kuroyuri."_ Winter smiled as she mouthed the exact same name at the exact same time before Maria continued with her story._ "So, I'm just sitting there, bored out of my mind, tossing my switchblade up into the air, catching it as it comes down - don't worry, I made sure not to have the blade just sticking out - and then all of a sudden, she walks up to me, snatches the knife right out of the air as I'm about to catch it, she looks at me and…" _Again, the image briefly vanished, reappearing with a somber expression on her face. _"Agent Silver, journal entry 0424; intercepted _another_ transmission from Jacques' men. They've confirmed that Agent _Rose_ continues to evade their response team, and that she _does_ still have possession of Paulette. Nothing more to report."_

Pearl unknowingly shared a sense of concern with Winter. _"Maria?"_

Maria sighed. _"You know, Jewels, I bet if I went straight for the playful banter, you know, not even checking to see if she was okay first, I would have never seen her again."_

"_Why _is_ that?_" Pearl asked.

Maria let out a bitter chuckle as she rubbed her eyepatch. _"Because she would have probably busted my other eye."_

"_What… _would_ you have told her, Maria? After making sure she was alright, that is?"_

Maria sighed. _"I would have told her...that I loved her. And that I understood why she did what she did... I just wish she hadn't. I wish she could have learned to let things _go. _I guess _I_ should, too."_

With a heavy heart, Winter wiped away her tears and stroked the image of her late heartthrob. "I love you, too." She whispered before Penelope reappeared. "Polendina… Penny, why did you show me that?"

Penelope sighed. "Because… I know what it's like to spend your life chasing ghosts."

Winter could only give a frustrated shake of her head in response. "I don't understand, these are _more_ than memories…"

Penelope nodded. "Her journal entries were part of the data that Qrow had recovered and the higher ups stored them in their personal files… which just happened to be one of the _many_ files I managed to acquire during my last visit to a Project Guardsman base alongside Team RWBY and company." The Memory fragment smirked and crossed her arms, smugly. "Not _bad_ for one of those _'reckless idiotic children',_ as you called _us,_ right?"

Winter glared. "If you're expecting me to get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness, you're out of luck…"

Penelope shook her head. "I never wanted to humiliate you, I just wanted you to respect me and my friends…"

"I've _always_ respected you guys." Winter couldn't help but sigh as their earlier talk surfaced in her mind. "...though I suppose I could do a better job at showing it, starting with saying 'Thank you for the gift'."

"You're welcome."

"Penny, Jacques is still out there," Winter declared, "and I need to find him. Not just for what he did to me and Weiss, to Yang and Ruby, but also what he did to Maria, to Qrow, to Cinder, the twins, to _all_ of them." She then looked to Penelope. "And for what he did to _you._ I guess I forgot that, in a way, you were there alongside us too."

Penelope nodded. "You know, the more memories I sift through, the more that sounds like a good plan."

"Find anything that can help us?"

Penelope shook her head. "Yeah, sorry: there's a _lot_ of memory for me to sift through, though I might be able to pull up some of Jacques' files if you give me some time…"

Winter nodded. "Well, you'll have plenty of time on the way back…"

Some time later, Velvet managed to find a way for Penelope's aura to transfer her memories into one of the computers where everyone could view them. At last, they managed to discover Jacques Schnee's exact location based on his most frequently visited labs. "You may thank me _later." _Velvet announced, smugly.

"_We'll _thank you, _right now." _Coco replied as she and Yatsuhashi kissed the rabbit Faunus' cheeks.

"So that's _it, _then, huh?" Ren sighed, tiredly. "Now, do we send this to the authorities, or-?"

"No." Winter interrupted. "Now, we finish our _mission… _and take _down _Jacques Schnee!"

Team JNPR shared a concerned glance. "Uh… I thought the deal was we help you _find _Jacques Schnee?" Jaune stated.

"And we _found _him!" Pyrrha added. "Good _job, _everybody!"

"Look, I just need you all to provide a distraction long enough for Penelope and I to get inside." Winter clarified.

"So we're just a _decoy _to you?" Qrow sneered, disgusted by Winter's tactics.

"No, Gray, you're with _me." _Winter corrected. "You're on _lock-pick _duty. You'll be getting us _into _Jacques' lab."

"Uh… we have to fight the bad guys on our _own?" _Ruby whimpered.

"Fuck _that!" _Yang shook her head, angrily. "I'm not risking _my _neck for this! And neither is my wife and sister!"

"Look! You have _nothing _to worry about!" Winter pressed on. "You're not going up against _Guardsmen! _Just standard Atlas soldiers!"

"But you said we were the _worst _huntsmen and huntresses you had ever _met!" _Nora replied.

"And you were _right!" _Ren added. "You're very _perceptive!"_

Penelope had heard enough. She finally had a chance to stop the man who had ruined her life, to save the closest thing she had to a _good _mother, and as she approached her moment of triumph, her friends were giving up on her. "Will you all stop _whining _and do something _useful _for once?!"

"Excuse me?!" Raven snapped. "Are you forgetting who _saved _your sorry magic ass from the military?!"

"Yeah! We almost _died _trying to save you!" Pyrrha reminded her.

"Oh, cry me a _river!" _Penelope shot back. "Let me know when you're on your _fourth _or _fifth _life to complain about how hard life is!"

"Wow, _fuck off, _Maiden." Ren holstered his weapons and marched towards the exit.

"Where do you think you're _going?!" _Winter demanded.

"I'm going with _Svetlana." _Ren replied. "Anyone who wants to come with me is _more _than welcome to tag along."

"Oh, that's _great, _Ren!" Penelope lashed out. "We can always count on you to _cut out _when we really _need _you!"

"Well, you can count _me _out, too!" Raven declared.

Winter clenched her fists in anger. "What?!"

"Don't get me wrong; I hate Jacques Schnee just as much as the _next _guy." Raven explained before she walked over to Yang and Blake, putting her arms around them. "But I'm not letting my family get turned into _swiss cheese _just so _you two _can settle some personal vendetta! This _isn't _our fight."

"Wow. Well _said, _Mom." Yang smiled.

"Both of you! Be _quiet!" _Winter demanded.

"No, this is _bullshit!" _Yang pushed the scorned Agent White away.

"Be _quiet!" _Winter repeated. "That's an _order!"_

"Well, guess _what, _psycho?!" Yang fumed, pointing a metallic finger in the former heiress' face. "I don't take _orders _from you!"

"No?" Winter drew her sword and held it against the blonde brawler's neck. "How about _now?"_

However, before she could make another move, Winter found a familiar scythe around her own neck. "Don't _do _that." Qrow growled, sternly.

"Gray? What're you _doing?"_

"Protecting my _family _and their _friends. _Now, _drop it." _He demanded. Once Winter did as he ordered, the alcoholic huntsman motioned for the others to step away from Winter.

"You're siding _with _them? After everything they've _done _to you?!"

"I'm _sorry, _White. But I've already caused _more _than enough problems for them." Qrow moved Harbinger's blade away from Winter's neck and stepped away. "And I'll be _damned _if I let _you _cause any more."

Penelope growled, feeling furious regarding this latest development. "So that's _it?!_ We _finally_ get a chance to take down Jacques Schnee, to possibly save the _real_ Summer Rose, and you're just going to _turn your back on us?!"_

Qrow tried to calm her down. "Penelope, I-"

"No, no, it's _fine!"_ Penelope scoffed, bitterly. "I should've _expected_ it from _you!_ I mean, it's not like you're really _new_ to the concept, right?"

"That's a little _harsh." _Yang replied.

"But _you guys?!"_ Penelope's glare hardened as she turned her gaze to the others. "After all the shit _you_ put me through, I really thought that at least _you'd_ have my back!"

Jaune blinked in shock. _"Us?_ What the hell did _we_ do?"

Penelope's image began to grow as her rage and aura intensified. The others stepped back in fear as she continued her rant, summoning a maelstrom of lightning, leaves, and rain. "You called me _weird_ without knowing me! You stuck a _magnet _on my head! You shot me with a _tank! _You got me sent to the _past! _You killed me with my own _damn swords!_ And that's just how we _met!" _She fumed.

"Penny, calm down!" Yang shouted. "What's your _problem?!"_

"_YOU'RE_ MY PROBLEM! YOU'VE _ALWAYS_ BEEN MY PROBLEM! _EACH_ AND EVERY _ONE_ OF YOU IS JUST A _PROBLEM!_ THAT I HAVE TO DEAL WITH ON A DAILY _BASIS!" _Penelope's words echoed around the room, leaving the others in shocked silence as the storm died down.

Weiss was the first to react. She glared at her sister, took off the tiara she had given to her years ago, and threw it at the ex-Guardsman's feet. With a huff, the younger Schnee sister turned around and left the room, angrily. Winter reached out to stop her, but no words came out of her mouth. At the same time, Penelope had calmed down enough to realize what she had just said; as evidence by the way she shrank back to her normal height.

"Guys…" Penelope called out as Teams JNPR and CFVY left along with Raven. "Guys, w-wait a minute…"

Qrow, Yang, and Blake were about to leave with the others, only stopping to wait for Ruby. The hooded huntress in training just stared back at her best friend with a saddened expression on her face. Ruby Rose; the original Penny's closest and dearest friend - the love of her life, even. The one human in the world who would have fought to the bitter end to prove that Penny Polendina was a real girl. The girl who's infectious smile and happiness always warmed Penny's heart. But now, after hearing what the Memory of her best friend thought of her, she could only stare, blankly, at her.

"Ruby, I…I didn't mean..."

At last, Ruby backed away from Penelope and turned around to join the others. Yang and Blake put their arms around her, as the poor girl silently wiped the tears from her eyes, albeit giving the spirit a look that showcased equal parts hurt and understanding: out of anyone, _they_ understood what Penelope was going through.

"Forget it, Polendina!" Winter sneered. "We don't need them!"

Qrow looked back at the two before leaving. _"Penelope_ I can understand: one can only go through so much before the pressure finally gets to them. Give it a day or two and I'm certain the others will welcome you back, Polendena, especially if I try and put in a good word for you." He then turned to her former teammate. "But _you?_ I don't know _what's_ gotten into you, Winter. All I know is that it's past time that you started to learn the difference between your _enemies _and your _friends." _

As Qrow finally exited the building, Penelope vanished out of shame. Winter was now all alone, with no one to comfort her.

**To Be Continued**


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

_"Hey, Winter."_

_Despite her residual irritation from her subpar training session, Winter - Agent White - allowed herself a smile as Pamela approached her. "Hello, Pamela: does Tyrian know that you're talking to me?"_

_The A.I. Unit shook her head. "No, he doesn't, and I'd like to _keep it_ that way. Don't tell anyone I said this, but there's something about him that rubs me the wrong way. Also, _please_ call me Luna: I _refuse_ to use a name that Jacques gave me and besides, I always _did_ find the moon to be rather beautiful."_

_Winter just chuckled in response. "And _this_ is why you are one of my favorites among the A.I. units: I can almost forget that my deadbeat Dad is behind your existence with how… _human_ you act. Anyways, did you need something?"_

_Luna/Pamela just shrugged. "Just wanted to see how you were doing. I do hope that Summer and Paulette didn't rough you up too badly."_

_"Paulette?"_

_"Agent Summer Rose's A.I. unit." Luna/Pamela instantly placed her hands over her mouth, a sense of fear prevalent despite her lack of features and monotone. "Oh no. I wasn't supposed to tell you that."_

_"Summer has an A.I. unit, eh?" Winter growled out before noticing the fearful look on Luna/Pamela's face and gave the hologram girl an easygoing smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell Jacques, Summer, or Tyrian you told me this. That said, I think I'll have a little _talk_ with her and my father."_

_Luna/Pamela could only sigh as Winter stormed off. "It's done. Now will you promise to leave Maria Calevera - Agent Silver - alone?"_

_"Yes." Priscilla said with a smile. "Cinder Fall - Agent Crimson - and I won't lay a finger on the Silver-Eyed Warrior in the here and now, and will work to assure that Tyrian doesn't either."_

Back in the present, Ruby climbed out of bed at the sound of a rooster's call. She and her friends had taken up Svetlana's offer to return with her and Mikhail to New Rushland to create new lives for themselves, and were on the verge of building new homes for themselves as they helped with the farmwork. The hooded huntress wasn't too excited to trade hunting Grimm for farming potatoes, but after what had happened with Penelope and Winter, she didn't have many other options.

As she put on her clothes for the day, Ruby sadly picked up Rose Thorn. She still missed Crescent Rose, but she never knew that carrying Penny's refurbished weapon would give her so much grief. Ruby finally made her way outside where she found Team CFVY making breakfast. "Hey, guys." She yawned. "What're you making?"

"Well, I've always had a balanced diet of _sausage _and _tang." _Coco remarked, motioning to her own cooking station.

"And _I've _always been obsessed with _buns." _Yatsuhashi added, putting a tray of cinnamon buns in the oven.

"And me and my _lightish-red apron _are just here to help." Fox finished.

"Oh, that sounds tasty." Ruby replied, taking a seat at the large dining table. She noticed Velvet sitting across from her, typing away at her laptop. "What're you doing, Velvet?" She asked.

Velvet sighed. "I went ahead and sent a copy of all the evidence that we gathered to the proper authorities: all we can do now is pray that it's enough."

"Well, the alliance between Atlas, Vale, Vacuo, and Minstral have always been _fragile _at best." Qrow remarked as he made his way into the kitchen. "So when the others see that Atlas' government has been using a _magical being _for their own benefit, they'll be out for blood. And something tells me Jimmy won't hesitate to sacrifice Jacques to prevent war."

"And not a moment too soon either." Weiss declared as she too entered the room. "As disappointed as I am about how things ended, one thing that Penny wasn't wrong about is that we've come too far to not do _something_ to take my deadbeat dad down a peg or two and/or get justice for the _real_ Summer Rose."

Raven nodded. "Right and while I wouldn't trade the marriage of Blake and my daughter for anything in the world, one has to argue that Adam Taurus wouldn't have turned out the way he did if it wasn't for Jackass Schnee."

"Wait what?!"

Raven couldn't help but blink at Weiss' shocked exclamation. "Oh, right: you didn't know. So, it turns out that the reason Blake's ex-boyfriend wears that mask of his is to hide a SDC brand on his left eye...and before you ask, I know this because I managed to knock his mask off back at Beacon and caught a glimpse of said brand before he ran off."

Seeing that her girlfriend was looking down in shame, no doubt feeling a sense of phantom responsibility, Ruby placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It wasn't your fault: you had no idea what Jacques was up to, and hey, think of it _this_ way: if it hadn't been for your father, we might never have met Blake and become such great friends with her. Actions have consequences, yes, but not _all_ of them are _bad_ consequences."

Weiss merely gave a teary-eyed smile in reply. "Have I told you how much I love you lately?"

"You could stand to mention it a bit more," Ruby said with a teasing grin, giving her girlfriend a quick peck on the lips before looking around, gaining a slight frown as she did. "Speaking of Yang and Blake, has anyone seen them lately?"

As if on cue, they heard a scream from outside. Sure enough, Yang and Blake were out back, the latter having run up to the house in fear. "Get them _away!" _Blake hissed, having climbed onto Yang's shoulders out of fear. "Keep those _beasts _away from me!"

"What's going on?!" Weiss asked, Myrtenaster ready in her grip. "Are we under attack?!"

"Not _quite." _Yang mumbled through Blake's killer grip on her head as a small pack of dogs swarmed the blonde brawler's feet. The canines barked and panted, desperately trying to play with the cat faunus.

"Why are there _fifteen dogs _on this farm?! They've been chasing me around _all day!"_

"In _Svetlana's Rushland…" _Mikhail chuckled. _"Dog _walks _you!"_

"Sorry, Blake." Svetlana apologized as she and Ruby tried to reign them in. "Mikhail and I adopted a bunch of strays to act as _early warning systems _against the Grimm."

Weiss sheathed her weapon and leaned down at the dogs. "Are you telling me that these _mangy… drooling… mutts…" _Her expression suddenly shifted from annoyed to overjoyed. "Are going to wiv wif us _foreva?! Oh, _yes, they _are! _Yes, they _are!"_

Ruby's heart melted at the sight of her girlfriend playing with the smaller dogs. Unfortunately, the fun quickly ended once Svetlana finally got the dogs under control. After all, they were not here on vacation, and agreed to help with the farmwork. But everyone stopped to gawk at Jaune as he began plowing the fields.

"Jaune?" Ren asked. "Is that… Cinder's _sword? _And you're using it to _plow a field?"_

"Well, it seemed like a more _practical _use for it." Jaune shrugged. "I was _going _to call it the Arc-Blade and have Velvet mount it on a plaque so I could hang it on the wall."

"And you know _me!" _Velvet beamed. "I can never resist a _good mounting!"_

"That's the _stupidest _thing I've ever heard!" Yang spluttered, activating Dragon Fang. "A sword isn't a _toy! _That weapon was created by a _Maiden _and you're using it like some _idiot?!"_

"Hey, leave him alone!" Pyrrha snapped.

"Shut up, Vernal!" Yang spat back, earning her a confused expression from the others.

"'Vernal?'"

"Oh, uh… I mean…"

"Yang?" Blake piped up with a concerned tone. "You're… starting to sound like your _mom."_

"What?!" Yang spluttered. "B-Blake! What's _happening _to me?!"

"I think you're having a mental _breakdown!" _Blake suggested, uneasily. "Everything we've been through, recently, must be putting too much stress on your brain! So in order to _cope, _your personality is defaulting to what _you _subconsciously perceive as the symbol of survival; _your mom!"_

"Th-that's not _true! _I'm _nothing _like my mom!"Yang desperately started looking around for someone. "H-Holly! Tell your dad that's not true! Holly?! _Holly?!"_

"Uh, Yang?" Blake gulped, worried for her wife's mental health. "We, uh… _left _Holly with the Doppelgangers, remember?"

Yang dropped to her knees and cried. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Hey, Yang, can you keep it down?" Ruby asked, tiredly, as she came from around the barn. Rose Thorn was still in her hand as she slowly made her way to her sister. "I'm trying to brood."

"Ruby!" Yang immediately jumped up and grabbed Ruby by the shoulders. "Ruby, _quick! _Tell me I'm cool! Tell me I'm just a lovable goof who tells bad jokes!"

"What are you _talking _about?" Ruby's eyebrow arched as Yang continued crying.

"I don't _wanna_ wear stockings well into my _forties!" _Yang sobbed, pathetically.

"Yang, will you get a _grip?!" _Weiss snapped. "You're not _exactly _like your mom! We wouldn't be _with _you if you were!"

"The hell does _that _mean?!" Raven sounded offended. "Since when am _I _the bad guy?!"

"Uh, since this new thing called _'always?'" _Qrow shrugged, taking another swig of the Kashtonovvy's vodka. "You think just because you and Yang made up, we're all gonna forget the shit you've done?"

"You're one to talk!" Pyrrha cut in, angrily. "If it wasn't for _you, _we wouldn't be stuck on a _farm _for the rest of our lives!"

"What's wrong with our _farm?!" _Mikhail spluttered. "Sure it's no _palace, _but rebuilding a village takes _time!"_

"Voulez-vous tous vous taire?! (Will you all please shut up?!)" Ciel shouted. "Je ne m'entends même pas penser! (I can't even hear myself think!)"

After a few more minutes of pointing fingers and angry accusations, everyone finally stopped shouting.

"Man, it seems crazy." Jean sighed, wistfully, breaking the silence. "When I first met you guys, you were all just a bunch of students learning to be huntsmen and huntresses. Now, it seems like you can't go _anywhere _without getting caught up in some crazy adventure. No wonder you want a memento of the _good times."_

"'Good times?!'" Weiss spluttered. "We were almost _killed!"_

"We almost lost Pyrrha!" Jaune added.

"I was made into a criminal!" Qrow remarked.

"Yang lost her arm!" Blake put in.

"We found out our career was a _lie!" _Svetlana said, still a bit hurt about how Ironwood hadn't been honest about Penny.

"And my whole team got _shot!" _Yatsuhashi finished.

That last comment prompted Qrow to look away from the sexually deviant team, putting his arms behind his back as he rocked back and forth on his heels and whistling, nonchalantly. Nevertheless, Jean carried on with her explanation. "Okay, yeah. So it wasn't _perfect."_ She relented. "But look at what you all got _out _of it!"

"You mean the Meta-sword?" Raven asked, crossing her arms.

"Arc-blade!" Jaune repeated.

"I mean beyond that." Jean clarified, pointing to each person as she spoke. "Raven managed to patch things up with her daughter. Yang and Blake finally got together. Weiss finally admitted her feelings for Ruby. Ruby got a new_ weapon. _Qrow got a new _team. _Svetlana found her old love, again. Ciel avenged her father. _I_ finally managed to keep some patients from dying."

"And as a plus, _we_ didn't die!" Yatsuhashi smiled.

"See?" Jean shrugged. "In the end, we all got what we wanted."

Ruby looked down in shame. "Not _everyone."_

The group realized that the hooded huntress was talking about Penny and Winter. Almost instantly, the teams stood up, patted Ruby on the back, and readied their weapons. Qrow looked worried. "You realize what you're all doing, right?" He asked.

"Yeah. You coming or what?" Raven snorted as she loaded dust into her scabbard.

"But, after everything they said to you-!"

"Aw, who can blame Penny?" Yang shrugged. "She was going through a pretty hard time."

"Besides, if we just quit every time a Schnee started _yelling _at us, this would've been over a long time ago." Blake chuckled.

"We'll be out-gunned, out... _everything."_ Qrow reasoned.

Ruby just smiled at the grizzled Guardsman. "Uncle Qrow, I'll always love you. But Penny is my friend, and I will do anything to save her. With or without you, I _will_ save her."

Qrow sighed and took a long sip from his flask. "This has to be the craziest idea, _ever…_ but you can count me in." He grinned, preparing Harbinger.

Meanwhile, as Winter and Penelope made their way towards their destination, Winter couldn't help but think back on how everything had fallen apart. Penelope had warned her that she would push away her loved ones again if she wasn't careful: she just hadn't anticipated that she'd somehow manage to pressure Penelope into doing it for her. At the very least she had done the smart thing and made a copy of Jacques' location and sent it to the authorities alongside with a copy of the evidence she had acquired with her sister and company. She figured that they might send their _own_ copy, but this would assure that Jacques' men couldn't simply pressure anyone into sweeping it under the rug. After everything that happened, she owed Weiss at least _that_ much everything that happened. Still, she couldn't deny that she had no one to blame for her sister walking out on her: for _everyone_ walking out on her. Her pride always _had_ been a problem for her.

_"I'm sorry."_

_Winter - Agent White - couldn't help but blink upon hearing this declaration, even as she continued to nurse a headache she had gained following a rather disastrous training session, before giving a sigh and a comforting gesture to her two companions. "It's not your fault, Phoebe. Not yours either, Patricia. Everyone warned me that trying to synch up with both of you at the same time would be harder than I thought, but I didn't listen. In hindsight, though, I should've _known_ that overtaking Agent Summer Rose and giving Jacques Schnee a slice of humble pie wouldn't be as simple as flipping a switch or what have you."_

_"Thanks for that," Patricia declared with a timid smile. "You treating us like we matter makes it easier to not be afraid."_

_"Of _course_ I think you matter: I'm not my father." Winter remarked, before frowning. "Maybe _that's_ why I was overwhelmed so quickly. I treated you like _tools_ rather than _allies." _With this realization, she turned and gave an easygoing smile to her two "A.I. units." Her two _friends._ "How do you feel like going through the park at some point? Glynda - Agent Purple - does it all the time with Phoebe." Despite knowing that her father was responsible for their existence, she couldn't help but feel a bit lighthearted with the smiles Phoebe and Patricia gave her._

"I don't like this…" Penelope suddenly declared, bringing Winter back to the present.

Winter couldn't help but blink at the emotional whiplash, but nodded nonetheless. "Me neither: where _is_ everyone?"

Penelope merely gave a frustrated sigh in reply. "That's not it: Ruby, she...of everyone in that room, _she_ was the one who deserved that tantrum of mine the _least._ I mean, I don't think I was directing all that at anyone in particular, but...she was my best friend and I…" She did her best to whip away some tears that weren't there even as she shook her head in frustration. "Doesn't help my emotional state that this place...it gives me an uncomfortable sense of deja vu."

_Trifa - Agent Blue - had appeared on a hologram projector that Summer had found, unaware that Winter was watching the same message from the shadows._ "Agent Rose... Summer. If you're viewing this, then that means I escaped. Or, well, at the very least, I'm probably not around anymore. That said, I wanted to leave behind all the data I've been collecting about Project Guardsman. I never _could_ shake the feeling that something was _wrong_ with the program; the secrets, the lies, the manipulation. Smoke. All of it. Obscuring a big damn fire that had been building up even _before_ Ozpin was forced out of it all, so I did some digging, and now I know what President Schnee has been hiding. What he did. He broke the law, Summer. One of those laws they don't just slap you on the wrist for...but more than that, he hurt you: you and one other person that I've been meeting up with in my spare time...and no: I am _not_ talking about Dr. Merlot, who you might have met up with by now. Let's just say you know this other person and leave it at for now."

_The projection of Trifa frowned at someone outside of the video._ "I'll be there in a minute!" _She shouted, before giving a disgruntled sigh._ "I'll have to cut this short soon, so I'll just get to the point; Summer, I'm taking the originals with me as an insurance policy, but I'm leaving this copy for you not because you are the best soldier in the squad, but because I know that I can trust you the most. After reading these files you will understand why. Good luck. Your friend, Trifa."

_Winter couldn't help but frown alongside Summer as multiple files appeared, showcasing all of Jacques' crimes, as well as irrefutable evidence that the woman in front of her was _not_ Summer Rose, or at least not the _original_ one. It seemed that Priscilla had been right that coming here would be worth it. All that was left to do was burn the bastard for everything that he had done...but not before taking care of his little tin soldiers._

Coming back to the present, Winter had to suppress a shudder as the memories of how her father had tried to seduce a married woman when her _own_ mother had turned to alcohol, as well as how he had turned to trying to create a robot duplicate of her after she had nearly died in that trap Jacques had set for her, came back to her. "You're not the _only_ one." She then sighed, knowing that she too could've handled things better earlier. "Polendina… _Penny:_ I don't know Miss Rose… _Ruby_ all that well, but I _did_ know her mother, and if she's _anything_ like her, if you apologize to her after all this is over, if you...give her the option of starting over, she'll take it. It'll take time for the hurt to heal, but in time...you _will_ get your best friend back." She then cleared her throat as they approached a teleporter. "For now, though, we have a job to do."

Penelope sighed. "Okay, you're right...and I can only pray that you're right about that other stuff too." She then gained a steely expression. "Well, this is it."

Winter nodded. "Ready to meet my father?"

Penelope smiled. "I'm combat ready!" As soon as they went through the teleporter, however, the Memory fragment quickly lost her smile, the sight before them chilling her to her core. "Oh no…"

As it turned out, Winter wasn't handling this development much better. "Polendina...Penny...what _is_ this?"

"He kept trying: he kept trying to get her 'right'..."

Winter couldn't help but gulp, eyes wide in horror as an army of "Summer-drones", all of which had apparently been deemed "failures" by her father, stood before them, looking every bit as confident and deadly as the woman herself. "Do you...think these things are anything like the real deal?"

A quick preparation for battle by every single one of the drones quickly showed that, yes, they _did_ share at least _some_ of her characteristics, most notably her combat expertise. One drone in particular seemed to share Summer's cocky attitude, as evidenced by how she stepped forward with a twisted version of the _real_ Summer's confident grin., cracking her knuckles as she did. "You have _no idea_ how much trouble you're in…" she declared, her deep voice only serving to add to the duo's horror on multiple levels.

**To Be Continued**


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 3****8**

"_Don't even think about it..."_

_Summer - Agent Rose - could only shake her head in frustration as Winter - Agent White - blocked her path. "Don't try and stop me!"_

_Summer charged as Winter jumped to the opposite wall and jumped off, using the force to kick Summer. They both knock each other away, but Winter quickly gets back on her feet, while Summer plants her stance on the ground. Winter punches and kicks Tex several times, although every one of her attacks are blocked. Summer lunges at Winter but misses, and Winter kicks her against the wall. Summer lunges back and knocks them both out of a window onto a cliff face below them. Despite reeling in pain, however, Winter managed to steady herself on a railing as Summer landed on a nearby rock._

_Summer could only __shake her head in frustration, seeing that__ Winter was stubbornly refus__ing__ to stay down. "Give it up, White__… _Winter: _the longer we fight, the more likely Jacques has a chance of winning; just...just _stand down _already."_

"_NEVER!" Winter growled out. "I can beat you...I _need _to beat you: you're just my father's puppet, Summer _Schnee!" _And that was all the warning Summer got before her (former) teammate tried to tackle her to the ground. "This time, _I WIN!"

"_No. You. _DON'T!" _And that was all the warning _Winter _got before Summer grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the ground. Summer then sighed as she looked upon her fallen comrade. "You're right about one thing: I'm _not _Summer Rose, not really." She couldn't help but give a bitter chuckle as Winter looked upon her with shock, _clearly _unable to believe what she had just heard. "What: you thought I _wouldn't _get curious as to why 'President Schnee' was going out of his way to make sure I couldn't contact my family? I've known I was a digital copy of the mother of Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long for quite some time...but I did some, I guess you could call it _soul searching, _and I decided that while the love I feel for them might not be my own, I've _chosen _to accept them as my family...and another thing: you'll _never _beat me: not as long as you continue to chain yourself down with the same pride that binds the father you claim to hate." She sighed as Agent White continued to stare at her in disbelief. "You can't win, Winter...but you _can _come with me if you wish. You're not the _only _woman who wants to see Jacques dead...but for now..." And that was all the warning Winter got before she was knocked out by Summer, who quickly turned away towards her true goal. "...I've got one more family relation to take care of."_

_With that, the hooded Guardsman made her way into the laboratory and approached the computer she was looking for. Sure enough, the screen was glowing with a unique green aura. She picked up the prototype mental dive device and placed it on her head, allowing her mind to enter the computer. In the blink of an eye, she found herself in what appeared to be a frozen tundra devoid of all life…_

… _all except for a little, red-haired girl, glowing with the same bright green aura that had appeared on the computer screen._

_Summer couldn't help but smile__ as she approached the shivering child._"There _you are..."_

"_Huh...?__" The girl looked up. "__Who... who are you?"_

_Needless to say, Summer had _not _been expecting that answer from the red-haired girl dressed in green. "You don't know me?"_

_The girl, despite her constant shivering, did her best to smile in reply. "Oh, sorry__… __s-s-salutations... I'm... I am... I'm-"_

_Summer simply sighed. "You're the Summer Maiden. You... your name is Penny. Penny Polendina."_

_The girl - _Penny _\- nodded in reply. "Oh... right, o-of course... I'm sorry, I'm just... it's so _cold _here."_

_Summer nodded. "It's okay. Come on, I'll take you out of here."_

_Penny shook her head. "I... I'm sorry... I think I j-just... just need to rest..."_

_Summer blinked. "You don't want to leave?"_

_Penny sighed. "I...I don't know if I _can._ I'm... sorry, I-I'm just... _really _t-tired..."_

_Summer, realizing that there wasn't any time to argue with her, simply nodded in reply. "Okay... you just go ahead and rest then. I'll be here when you're ready to leave."_

_Penny smiled in reply. "T-thank you. I hope you'll v-visit me again... w-what was your name, again?"_

"_It's... it's Rose."_

_Penny blinked. "Rose? L-like the flower?"_

"_Yeah."_

_Despite her shivering and fatigue, Penny couldn't help but let out a weak giggle. "That's a... a funny name for a person."_

_Summer merely let out a sad chuckle of her own. "Yeah, I guess it is."_

_Meanwhile, Winter couldn't help but groan as she came to again. "My head..." She shook her head as she tried to get back up. "I...I have to..."_

_Patricia, having watched the whole thing with her sister, merely growled in reply. "Do _what: _get yourself killed!? I bet you don't even have a plan!"_

_Winter leveled her best glare at her companion. "Yes, I _do: _take down the abomination that _thinks _it's Summer Rose before she stabs everyone here in the back like the pawn of Jacques Schnee she is!"_

_Polly meanwhile just shook her head in response. "You mean like how _you _stabbed _Maria _in the back, quite literally, I might add? Oh, sorry: 'All Project Huntsman operatives must refer to each other by their code names', which would make _her _'Agent Silver', wouldn't it?"_

_Winter found herself flinching at those blunt words. "That...that's not..."_

"_What: you think that just because you're his first born daughter means that you're the only one who's allowed to take him down?" Polly asked with a scoff. "What would you have done if it was _Weiss _that was blocking your path?!" She simply shook her head when she didn't get a response. "I'm sorry, Agent White... _Winter, _but you'll never be truly happy if revenge is the only thing you live for."_

"_She's right," Patricia said with a nod. "If you continue like this, you'll spend the rest of your life drowning in your own fears."_

"_Oh, she's not afraid: not _yet."

_Meanwhile, Summer couldn't help but whip an oily tear from her eye as she exited the memory unit. "Rest well__, Penny__." Before she could do anything else, however, a frightened scream broke her out of her thoughts. Turning to where said scream had come from, Summer quickly paled at what she saw: there, in the distance, holding Winter by the throat, stood Cinder Fall - Agent Crimson - wearing some sort of modified Guardsman armor with an unusual symbol painted on the back. "What are you doing?!" she couldn't help but yell out even as she ran, hoping beyond hope that she could somehow save Winter. Unfortunately, she arrived too late, as evidenced by the blood that dripped onto the ground even as Cinder clenched her fist around a pair of microchips before throwing Winter off the cliff they had been standing on._

"_NO!" Summer yelled out, watching helplessly as Winter, just _barely _hanging onto her consciousness, attempted to use her glyphs to slow her fall, landing in the snow below as she did. Though Summer was uncertain if her friend was still alive, she knew she didn't have time to worry about that, as evidenced by how Jacques was already making his move, having witnessed all this from a helicopter. Summer merely growled in defiance, before activating her com-system. "Winter, if you can hear me, I meant what I said: we can still team up. Believe me when I say that I want to see Jacques fall _just _as much as you do. For now though, I'm going to try and lure Jacques and Agent Crimson away from your location."_

_Priscilla merely gave an arrogant chuckle as she appeared on Cinder's shoulder alongside Polly and Priscilla, the latter two currently attempting to comfort each other, as Summer ran off. "You can run all you like, Agent Rose: we are the Meta, and we _will _find you."_

Back in the present, Winter armed herself with her sword as she and Penelope faced the army of "failed" Summer drones. "Penelope, talk to me." She ordered.

"I-I'm _here." _Penelope stammered, trying to steel her nerves for the coming conflict. "I can channel the Summer Maiden powers through your armor and give you any enhancements need!"

"Then let's _do _this!" Winter declared, charging at the drones with a gust of wind adding to her speed. With one swift motion, she decapitated several drones at once, blasting them with fire dust for good measure. Another triad of drones surrounded Winter, trying to catch her off-guard. But just as they lunged in for the kill, Winter jumped into the air and incinerated them with a blast of lightning. But her luck wouldn't last long. Case in point, eventually two Summers got the idea to attack her at once; one sliding to kick her legs out while the other jumped up to punch her into the ground. Winter recovered, but failed to block the next blow that disarmed her. Now, without her sword, Winter was forced to resort to magically enhanced punches. Her blows alternated from ice, to fire, to lightning, to wind bursts; the Summer drones were quickly shattering to pieces. But eventually, numbers trumped raw power. When one drone was destroyed, ten more took "her" place. Winter became desperate.

"Penny! I need enhancements!" She ordered.

Penelope nodded. "Which ones?!"

"_All_ of them!"

The Maiden fragment blinked. "I don't think that's such a good ide-AAAAAAAAAHHH!" She was cut off as her hostess propelled herself forward with a gust of wind while blasting fire at the drones. Penelope flickered as she felt the strain of using so much power all at once. "Winter, slow down!" But Winter wouldn't listen as she used lightning to fry another drone's circuits. "Winter, it's _too much!" _Winter ignored her, still ripping four more drones apart with razor-sharp leaves. "Winter, _stop!"_

At last, Penelope's power faded and Winter was powerless to dodge a clothesline blow from another drone. _"You can't beat me, Winter." _Summer's words echoed in Winter's head as the remaining drones surrounded her.

"Winter! Winter are you alright?" Penelope asked, regaining her strength.

Winter merely shook her head in frustration, tears flowing from her eyes. "She was right... I _can't_ beat her! I can _never_ beat her..."

One Summer Rose drone merely gave an arrogant chuckle. "Better luck next time, White."

Suddenly, three sticky grenades attached themselves to three of the drones. Winter blinked, looking up to see Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY in the doorway.

Velvet smiled. "Nine points, ya bloody whore!"

Winter took this time to jump out of the way before the explosion went off, blinking as Qrow offered her a hand up.

Qrow merely smiled as she took his hand. "I told you they aren't so bad once you get to know them."

Penelope meanwhile couldn't help but frown. "I thought this wasn't your fight."

Nora smiled. "C'mon! Overwhelming odds, with little to no chance of success? How could we resist?!"

Yang quirked an eyebrow. "Got a problem with that, Polendina?"

Penelope sighed. "Guys... I'm sorry. I had _no right_ to say what I did, and I will properly apologize and accept _any _remarks and jabs after we're done here. But I'd like to point out that we are currently standing in a room full of Huntress robots ready to kill us."

Yang snorted. "So, cheesy forgiveness speech later?"

Weiss nodded. "Yeah, that works."

Winter simply got her sword ready. "Lock and load, people!"

As everyone else got ready, Penelope approached Ruby. "There is _so _much I want to say to you, but right now, I need you to get _really angry, _okay?"

"Okay..." Ruby declared, before frowning, realizing what their opposition was. "I-I don't know how to get mad enough to fight my mom."

Penelope smirked as her green aura shifted to black. _"I _do."

Ruby shuddered at the familiar feeling of Paulette possessing her mind. This time, however, she gave into the anger and charged at the army of drones. With her increased strength, the hooded huntress had no trouble tearing through the crowd. "My name is Ruby Rose!" She declared, angrily, before slashing another drone with Rose Thorn. "And I!" A swift punch knocked off the head of one of the drones. "HATE!" Ruby grabbed another drone by the feet, spun around, and threw it into a trio as she wrapped up her battle cry. "TAXES!"

Weiss groaned. "It's _Jacques,_ you dolt!"

"That, too!"

Soon enough, the others joined in the fray with vigor.

Raven sprinted ahead of the others, cutting down several of the drones as she did. A part of her did feel guilty about killing the likeness of her best friend, but was able to justify it to herself by assuring her that this was _not_ Summer Rose: this was a rabid dog unleashed by Jacques Schnee, an insult to her friend's name, and it needed to be put down like the monster it was. "Nothing _personal." _She told herself.

Meanwhile, Yang simply snarled before using a combination of her Ember Celica and Dragon Fang to take out a dozen Summer drones at once, giving a bitter chuckle when she was done.

Needless to say, Qrow couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at his niece's display. "You seemed to enjoy that a little too much."

Yang merely shrugged. "Just letting off some steam: she never _did_ let me know where she was going on her last mission, which might have contributed to my abandonment issues." She then blinked as Qrow mercilessly cut down a few Summer-drones.

"What can I say?" Agent Grey said with a shrug. "I had my _own_ issues to deal with from back during my time in Project Guardsman."

Meanwhile, Jaune was doing his best with both his own sword and Cinder's, but eventually two drones grabbed him by the wrists and pin him to the floor. Then, they spread his legs while he was disoriented, giving three more drones a window of opportunity to strike his groin all at once. The poor young man saw his life flash before his eyes. Luckily, Pyrrha managed to skewer all three drones just in time before tackling one of the two holding his legs. But just as he was about to release a sigh of relief, the remaining drone finished the job. "OW!" He groaned, instinctively cutting off the drone's head with Cinder's sword before getting up. "Not _again!" _He moaned.

"We can't keep this up _forever!" _Ren remarked, shooting a few drones as he did. "There's just too many of them!"

"Penelope, do you remember how Penny managed to hold off the Meta?" Qrow called out.

"Yeah! But that was _one person! _Not a _bunch _of them!"

"There's only _one _Summer." Qrow remarked, bringing Yang and Ruby closer to him. "And _nobody _knows her more than you three."

Penelope locked her gaze with Ruby and Yang before she let out a sigh. "Okay, just… hang on, guys. This is gonna get… _emotional." _Using her Maiden powers, Penelope pulled Ruby and Yang into the subconscious mind of the false Summer Rose.

Penelope smiled as she, Ruby, and Yang approached Summer in the mindscape. "Salutations, Summer."

To their horror and confusion, however, Summer merely blinked in reply. "Summer? Is...is that my name?"

Yang couldn't help but gasp. "Oh my gods: what did he _do _to you?"

Needless to say, Ruby couldn't help but let out a sniffle. "Mom?"

Summer blinked upon hearing this, but nodded. "I...yes, that's right: I have a daughter; two, actually: one of them...her own mother had left and I stayed to take care of her, eventually coming to see her as my own. Something happened, though: I remember a man approaching me and...I never got to see them again after that. I can't seem to remember what they look like, though, or even their names, but I know I loved them. I never _stopped _loving them. I wonder how they're doing right now..."

Yang was just _barely _able to suppress a growl as the final pieces of the puzzle came together: Jacques had kidnapped Summer Rose and tried to brainwash her to be his perfect wife shortly after Willow's mental collapse following Weiss' disastrous 10th birthday. When it didn't take, he tried copying her mental patterns into a robotic shell to try and make a version of her that _would_ submit to him. Unfortunately, he kept failing, eventually resulting in the _original _Summer's mind becoming a shadow of its former self. She then sighed, realizing what she needed to do. "They...they grew up. They never stopped trying to live up to her expectations; the adoptive daughter...she followed your example, trying her best to look after her sister in your stead."

Ruby nodded with a sniffle, understanding what Yang was doing: that it was something they needed to do despite how much it hurt. "...and the sister never stopped loving you: _neither _of them did. You...you'd be _proud _to see how much they took after you: how they followed in your footsteps to become huntresses like you."

"So, they became huntresses..." Summer said with a nod. "...did they make some good friends? Are they happy?"

Penelope placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "They've had some rough patches, but I can safely say that they have _plenty _of support and that they turned out alright all things considered..."

Summer couldn't help but give a tear-soaked smile. "Good, that's...that's all I ever wanted." She then turned to look at Yang and Ruby. "You two: what are your names?"

Ruby sniffled. "It's Ruby. Ruby Rose, and this is my sister, Yang Xiao Long."

Summer smiled. "I don't know what it is exactly, but you seem like good kids. I'm sure your mother's _very _proud of you two." She then sighed even as Yang and Ruby gave a tear filled smile. "I'm sorry, I'd love to talk some more but...I'm just... I'm just so tired..."

Penelope looked to Yang and Ruby who both nodded, despite the tears in their eyes before turning back to Summer. "Listen, Summer, I need you to rest now..."

Summer couldn't help but give a bitter laugh. "Rest, huh? I'd honestly like that..."

Ruby sighed. "Mo...Summer, we need to go now, but you just rest: goodbye."

Summer scoffed. "'Goodbye': I don't know why, but I _hate _that word."

Yang couldn't help but give a bitter chuckle. "I know why."

"Hey, before you go, can you...I think I had a team that helped me raise my daughters, among other things: could you tell them that I don't blame them for what happened?" Summer couldn't help but ask. "Also, can you promise to tell my daughters that I love them? Something tells me I won't be able to tell them for myself after today."

Penelope smiled. "Don't worry: I'll be sure to pass along the message."

Summer sighed. "Thanks: you're a good kid, uh..."

Penelope nodded. "It's Penelope: Penelope Polendina."

Summer smiled. "That's a nice name, kid. Such a shame I never met you before today: I'm sure my two daughters would've _loved _another playmate."

Penelope couldn't help but give a pleased smile. "Thanks." She then sighed. "Goodbye."

The trio woke up just in time to see the remaining drones shut down, much to their bittersweet relief. Jaune, however, was a bit frustrated. "Y'know, you could've done that _before _I got hit in the balls by _fifteen _of them at once!" He snapped.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Yang chuckled.

"So… he's _just behind that door, _huh?" Ruby asked before she turned to Weiss. "Are you _sure _you don't want us to come with you?"

"No." Weiss shook her head. "You and Yang got _your _closure. This is something Winter, Penelope and I have to do _alone."_

Winter couldn't help but scowl as she and her sister stormed into the room where Jacques Schnee was hiding. "Hello, _Father." _she barked out...only to pause as she took in the scene before her.

Jacques, currently watching some old video files of Summer, didn't even turn to look at his daughters. "Hello, Agent White: would you or your companion like to watch this with me?"

Weiss just barely managed to suppress a snarl. She might not remember Ruby's _real _mother all that well, but if her robot duplicate had been any indication, even as her babysitter, she'd been more of a parent to her than the man in front of her had _ever _been. Taking a cleansing breath, Weiss simply shook her head in disgust. "No thanks: we're good."

Jacques simply sighed. "Play it again, Gloria."

Gloria/Lori seemed to grow confused. "President Schnee?"

"Again!"

Winter couldn't help but share a conflicted look with her sister before sighing. "So... _this _is where your obsession with perfection has led you: _this _is what you've become."

Jacques growled. "She's my wife! She just doesn't realize it yet: I KNOW there's a way that..."

Weiss could only scoff. "...and what about Willow, your _real _wife? Have you ever thought about her, about our _mother, _during this 'grand' experiment of yours?"

Jacques, for the first time in a _long _while, actually found himself hesitating with his answer. "She's...it doesn't matter: I'm too close: I can make this work..."

Winter couldn't help but shake her head in disgust and pity. "The authorities are hunting you: if _we _found you, _they_ will too."

Jacques scowled. "I just need a little bit more time..."

Penelope, having heard just about enough, couldn't help but growl. "NO! You've _had _your time! You need to answer for what you did: to Cinder, to Ozpin, to Maria, to Glynda, to Qrow, to Winter, to Weiss, to Whitley, to Willow, to Ruby, to Yang, to me, _and _to her: to SUMMER!"

Jacques, needing to take a moment to recognize the entity before him, eventually gave a nod. "Hello, Penelope: did you come out all this way to see me?"

Penelope simply growled. "I'm here to remember what you've _done: somebody _has to!"

Winter blinked. "Polendina?"

"Penny?" was Weiss' cautious declaration.

Penelope just scowled. "Not all of us were as lucky as you two: able to get out of it all with only a scar or two, physically or otherwise; the man in front of you?"

"He was _brilliant!__"_ Pearl declared.

"And we _trusted_ him!" Phoebe sobbed.

"But he _lied_ to us." Luna/Pamela declared.

"He _twisted_ and _tortured_ us! And _used_ us!" Paulette growled out.

"_Manipulated_ us for his own purposes, and for _what__?!"_ Priscilla couldn't help but ask.

"This _cowardly_ motive of his?!" Patricia trembled.

"To create the _'perfect' _wife at the expense of our true father's _happiness?! _All for this… this _shadow?!" _Polly asked with a growl.

"He _had_ to have realized how much of a _failure_ this was all going to be and yet look at all he _did!" _It was hard to tell whether it was Summer or Penny herself who had said this.

"...he needs to pay." Weiss and Winter had to hold back a wince. That one sentence somehow held all of the pain that Penny - that the Summer Maiden - had had to go through and then some. They'd even go as far as to say that there was a bit of Jacques Schnee _himself_ laced within that declaration, as if even the mental copy of "President Schnee" had realized something that his mental origin had failed to: that this experiment had caused more _pain _than _profit._

Speaking of whom, Jacques found himself looking at his two daughters, pleading with them to understand what he was trying to attempt. The pitying looks they gave showed that they couldn't, but the light kisses on the forehead they gave displayed that despite his many, _many _failures, a small part of them still remembered him as their father. It gave him little peace, however, as evidenced by how he sighed and turned back towards the screen. "I can fix this; I just need a little more time..."

Weiss could only shake her head in anger, disgust, and pity. "Penny, we're leaving."

Penelope blinked. "I...I don't understand: I thought we came all this way to _kill _him..."

Winter sighed. "Remember what you learned in the memory unit? You _need _to let go: your past doesn't _define _who you are. It just gives you the starting point for who you're _going _to be."

Weiss found herself giving a bittersweet smile. "She's right; in a perfect world, yes, that _is _likely what we would do, but you know just as much as we do that there's no such thing as _perfection... _but ultimately, that's not necessarily a _bad _thing: it's the _flaws _in life that make it worth living."

Jacques sighed. "Agent White… Winter, would you be so kind as to leave me your pistol?" He nodded as she did just that. "Thank you...and Weiss, look after Summer's daughters for me..."

Weiss nodded. "Always." She sighed. "Goodbye… father."

Jacques could only shake his head in disbelief as his two daughters walked off. "I should have seen it sooner: _you _were my greatest success..."

Penelope scowled. "I don't know _what _I am...but I _do _know this: I never needed you to _program _me to form a bond with Ruby and Yang...or Weiss and Winter, for that matter: I did that all on my own. I'm not you: I'm _better _than you."

Jacques couldn't help but give a bitter chuckle. "Glad I didn't make _that _mistake...though not to seem rude, but I wasn't talking to _you."_

Penelope just scoffed, understanding full well that he was referring to Weiss and Winter, but also knowing that it was all too little, too late, so she simply turned and left with her "sisters".

Meanwhile, Jacques turned back towards the screen. "Play it again, Gloria."

"Beginning playback."

Jacques nodded. "Thank you Gloria. Now, I'd like you to erase all files not pertaining to the Schnee family and business from this facility, the only exception being this one."

Gloria/Lori couldn't help but blink. _"All _of our files? Including me?"

Jacques just sighed. "It's been a pleasure. I _am _sorry that it's come to this."

Gloria/Lori hesitated, but ultimately gave a sigh of her own. "...and to you as well, sir."

"...but before you do, I'd like to shut down all the facility's systems as well: take everything offline."

Gloria/Lori gasped. "...but sir: this is a sealed facility. If I shut it all down, life support will not..."

Jacques shook his head. "Thank you, Gloria. Shut it all down. Lock me in."

Gloria/Lori simply sighed. "...alright, but if I may ask, was the project a success? Did you find what you were looking for?"

Jacques couldn't help the remorseful sigh that escaped him. "No, no I did not...but I think that I might have gotten very close. That there were some minor successes along the way that I simply overlooked." He shook his head in frustration. "I wish...I wish I knew for certain."

Gloria/Lori nodded. "I see: it's been an honor sir."

Meanwhile, the video kept on playing. _"I'm flattered, really I am, but I have my own family to look after,"_ came Summer's declaration from the footage.

Jacques simply sighed even as he raised the gun to his head. "You were right all along, Willow: I wasn't seeing how flawed I was."

The Summer on the video gave a sigh. _"...but I suppose I have a little time to see Willow and your kids__...and who knows? M__aybe someday our families will play together; after all, you know how much I hate__'goodbyes.'"_

With those words spoken, the door to the room closed as the sound of a gunshot resonated through the hallways.

A few days later, teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY were waiting at the Royal Atlesian Airport for a ride back to Vale. The evidence sent to the authorities cleared the young huntresses and huntsmen from their alleged crimes; even Qrow and Winter were absolved. Ruby approached the remainder of Team CPPR before they left. "Where are _you _guys going?"

"As much fun as it was helping you guys, Mikhail and I need to return to our farm." Svetlana explained. "And Ciel and Jean agreed to come with us!"

"I can already _feel _my blood pressure going down at the thought of being away from you people." Ciel remarked, earning herself a smack from Svetlana. "Oops, was that in _English?"_

"Don't tell me _Penny's _going with you, too." Ruby whimpered.

"Penny?" Jean scratched her head as she looked around. "We haven't _seen _her since yesterday."

"But we're about to _leave!" _Ruby whipped her head around, scanning the area.

"Don't worry, Ruby! She may just be a _fragment _of the Penny we first met, but I _know _that she loves you all the same." Svetlana gave Ruby a final hug goodbye before handing her a sack. "Until we meet again, little Rose. Oh, and _this _will just be _our little secret, _no?"

Ruby was perplexed by Svetlana's wink until she opened the sack. Her eyes lit up at the sight of three bottles of the Kashtovvy's vodka. Throwing the sack over her shoulder, and hiding it under her cape, Ruby continued her search for Penelope. Little did she know that the Maiden fragment in question was watching over her from the rooftop of one of the hangars with a certain former Guardsman beside her.

Winter couldn't help but smile. "I know I'm new to this, but it seems to me that everything's getting back to normal."

Penelope shrugged. "What passes for normal, but you're right: after all the craziness, we're... _they're _finally going home." She sighed. "Sorry, it's just...after everything that's happened, something tells me it's going to take some time before I'm ready to call any one place 'home.'"

Winter nodded. "Might I make a suggestion? Don't say goodbye."

Penelope blinked. "Goodbye? I didn't realize I was going anywhere...not that I'd say 'no' to some 'family bonding'."

Winter chuckled. "Right: Ruby, Yang, and even Weiss all gave it a chance: nothing saying I shouldn't do the same." She then shook her head. "...but more than that: I intercepted a military transmission. It seems some low level thugs have some armor and equipment that's way above their pay grade: sounds like it might be some of the missing gear from a certain organization run by a certain man that had his family disown him recently: very violently, I might add."

Penelope, knowing full well that she's referring to Jacques, couldn't help but smirk. "Is that right?"

Winter nodded. "Think I'll go get it back: hate to think about it being in the wrong hands; not to mention, with all that equipment, I could use some help operating it: you seem uniquely qualified for the job." She shrugged. "Figured we could set some things right, that we helped make wrong."

Penelope just sighed. "I don't know: that's a _lot _of things to set right."

Winter merely chuckled. "Yeah, could keep us busy for a while."

Penelope smirked. "Well, it _would _be nice to be a true huntress again."

Winter sighed. "Penelope... _Penny, _what you and I were involved with... the things we helped do... I'll be honest - I don't know if we can ever get all the way back to good...but, I think that we have a chance to do better...and if we wake up everyday and try to make things better, eventually, we might find that better is good enough."

Penelope shrugged. "Maybe; still, I hate to leave without saying something. They deserve to at least hear a goodbye."

Winter merely gave an understanding nod. "You know, Summer had a saying: did I ever tell you about the time I spent with her? Well, with the original?"

"No: I don't believe you did," Penelope said with a bitter chuckle.

Winter smiled. "She wasn't around a lot when I was a kid. She only visited a handful of times, and when she _was _there, she could only stay a short time, what with how she had her _own_family to take care of. Still, when she left, she always made two things clear: one, that she'd adopt me, Weiss, and even Whitley in a heartbeat if she had the chance, and two, she wouldn't say goodbye to us. Instead, she always told us, 'Never say goodbye: if you don't say goodbye then you aren't really gone: you just aren't here right now.'"

Penelope merely nodded in reply. "She sounds like a wise and compassionate woman."

"She was: she _really _was," Winter said with a content sigh, giving Taiyang - who she had spotted in the distance - a respectful nod. "Had a rather... _unique _taste in men, though I can honestly say that it wasn't too bad all things considered."

While Penelope left with Winter, Ruby still looked around the airfield. "Penny?! Penny, we're about to _leave! Penny?!"_

"Ruby, where's _Penny?" _Yang asked. "Is she _gone?"_

"... no." Ruby shook her head. "She's not gone… she's just not here, right now."

**To Be Continued**


	39. Interlude

**Interlude**

**Vale, Sanus. Years Ago.**

"GO, GO, GO!" Neo Politan shouted as she and Roman jumped into the van with two sacks full of dust. Their newest partners - Jerome Grey and Kyle Azul - fired at the huntsmen pursuing them while the driver floored the gas pedal. Chasing after them was Taiyang Xiao Long and Qrow Branwen, both of whom had been called away from their new teaching jobs at Signal Academy.

Just then, the thieves' tire blew out, forcing them to pull over. "Aw, _shit!" _Roman cursed as he kicked the back door to the van open. Luckily, he spotted two more cars parked on the curb. Acting quickly, he and Jerome broke into the vehicles and successfully hotwired both just as the huntsmen duo were closing in on them. Roman pushed Neo into the passenger seat and pointed to Kyle and Jerome. "You two! Take the dust back to the hideout and lay low! Neo and I will get those punks off our trail!"

With that, the thieves split up. As hoped, Taiyang and Qrow were now following Roman and Neo in their own pursuit vehicle. "Any _ideas, _love?" Roman turned to face his longtime partner in crime. "I'm open to _suggestions."_

Neo gained a cheshire grin as the gears in her mind started turning. "Just get around this corner and follow my lead!" She ordered. Moments later, Taiyang and Qrow rounded the bend, only to find that the car they were chasing after had vanished.

"Where'd they _go?" _Taiyang gawked. Suddenly, red and blue lights flashed from behind them, accompanied by a shrill siren. "Oh, _great! _How fast were you going?!"

"I don't _know!" _Qrow grumbled, bitterly. "There are no _speed limits _in a _car chase!"_

The huntsmen pulled over, unaware that they were about to be duped. Neo used her semblance to disguise herself and Roman as police officers as they approached the vehicle that they had been trying to avoid. "License and registration, please." Neo ordered.

"Is there a problem, officer?" Qrow asked just before Roman took a picture of the duo with his scroll.

"You two match the description of these men." He stated, showing them the picture.

"That's _us!" _Taiyang gasped.

"So, that's a positive I.D." Neo pretended to write something down in her notebook.

"And when did you last _see _yourselves?" Roman pressured.

"We're _right here!" _Taiyang spluttered.

"And when was _that?" _Neo squinted, suspiciously.

"Just _now!" _Qrow replied.

"So you couldn't have gotten far. Wait here while we run this." Roman and Neo returned to their vehicle, leaving the huntsman confused. Once they were out of sight, the partners in crime burst out laughing as they sped towards the docks.

A few hours later, Roman was counting the money and dividing up the shares while Jerome and Kyle sorted the stolen dust. Once the crooks finished their job, Neo returned from disposing of the getaway cars. "Keep up the good work, boys." She smirked.

"How come your boss always gives _us _the dirty work?" Kyle grumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"I said how come your boss always-?" Kyle was cut off by a parasol to the gut.

"Let's get something straight; I don't have a _boss. Okay?" _Neo sneered, coldly. "There's not a man on this _planet _who tells _me _what to do. Mr. Torchwick and I are _partners. _And don't you _forget _it." With that, the petite young woman sauntered over to her partner and sat in his lap. "Hey~"

"Just a minute, dear." Roman smirked as he finished counting. "... split four ways, minus the equipment cost, and adding your little _bonus _for a job well done, that gives you a total payday of _four hundred thousand, six hundred and fifty-three lien." _The crime lord chuckled as Neo graciously accepted the stack of bills. "Yeah, tuck _that _into your brassiere, ice cream girl."

Neo ignored the sour looks from Jerome and Kyle as she snuggled closer to her oldest friend. "You know, Roman, I get the feeling the _thugs _are envious about my bonuses."

"Well, when they do what _you've _done for me, they can get the same rewards." Their eyes closed as they leaned towards each other for a kiss…

… only to be interrupted by Roman's scroll vibrating on the nearby nightstand.

"I say we let it go to _voicemail." _Neo hissed.

"Sorry, my dear." Roman sighed, apologetically, as he lifted the scroll to answer. "It's _her."_

"_Mr. Torchwick?" _Dr. Watts beckoned over the other end of the call.

"Speaking." Roman replied in affirmative.

"_Mistress Salem will be with you in a moment. Please hold."_

"Ugh." Roman groaned; he hated waiting for anyone. Reluctantly, he prompted Neo to get up so that he could take his call outside. Neo was now left alone to count her money, herself…

… while Jerome and Kyle slowly approached her.

Meanwhile, outside the warehouse, Roman Torchwick paced back and forth on the docks, waiting for the nigh-almighty witch to address him. At last, Salem's voice came. _"Torchwick?"_

"Yes, ma'am." Roman replied with his usual charming tone. "Always a pleasure to serve the _mighty, _and _elegant-"_

"_I am sending you to _Menagerie, _Torchwick." _Salem interrupted.

"Menagerie?" Roman echoed, confused. "As in, the _Faunus sanctuary? _Alright, you're the boss, but if you don't mind me asking, what do you want me to steal?"

"_You're not stealing _anything, _Torchwick. All you have to do is drive the inhabitants _off _that island." _Salem explained. _"There's… something _on _the island that I've been searching for. Do this for me, and I will reward you, _handsomely."

"Well, I certainly like _handsome rewards." _Roman replied. "But getting rid of an entire _island's worth _of people… that's gonna take a while, even for Neo and myself."

"_Which is why you will be working with a _partner." Salem clarified._ "Someone who has _been _to Menagerie before, and knows _exactly_ how to get rid of everyone on that island. He should be with you, shortly. Best of luck, Mr. Torchwick."_

Roman simply groaned as he hung up. "Ugh, creepy little witch."

"You're lucky I don't plan on telling her you said that."

Roman blinked as a goat Faunus, wearing a mask and a sword at his waist, entered the room. "I know she said she'd send someone over, but I didn't think she meant you'd be here _now."_

"Yeah, she's fickle like that," the Faunus agreed, looking him over as he did. "So, _you're_ Roman Torchwick."

"At your service." The legendary thief said with a mock bow. "And _you_ would be?"

"Call me Adam Taurus. Long story short, I was requested by a third party - who for now shall remain anonymous - to divert some of my resources in your direction." the newly named Adam Taurus declared. "But upon closer inspection, I find that, as much as I hate to admit it, you and I _need_ each other, even without the unwelcome intervention."

"Wait, back up, care to explain why you wish to work with me and my crew when, by your own admission, you don't even _like_ any of us?" Roman couldn't help but ask.

"You mean _besides_ how, like I just said, I've been… _coerced_ into doing so by our soon to be mutual employer?" Adam remarked. "It's quite simple, really. You have something I want: access to classified information that will prove useful in future endeavors. And as luck should have it, _I_ have something that would prove _very_ useful to _you, _aside from basic combat skills that is: the ability to do reconiconsonce that you could only _dream_ of achieving, and what _I_ can't do, I happen know several people who _can, _all of whom deliver their information to me personally. For instance, I happen to know that two of your men are in the process of brutalizing your little lady friend even as we speak."

"Wait, _what?!"_

Adam couldn't help but blink in surprise; he had _not_ known a normal human was capable of moving that fast. Roman sprinted back into the warehouse just in time to see Jerome holding a blood-soaked knife over a bruised and bloody Neo. Enraged, Roman used his weaponized cane to blow them off of her. Unfortunately for the treasonous crooks, they had never learned how to utilize their aura; Kyle lost an arm while Jerome lost a leg. "Faunus! Make yourself useful and keep Neo alive!" Roman ordered as he approached the screaming traitors. While keeping pressure on the woman's wound, Adam curiously observed his new partner torturing the other thieves.

"You have _three seconds _to explain yourselves!" Roman snarled.

"T-Torchwick, it's not what you think!" Jerome whimpered. "Th-that little bitch was gonna _betray _us! And we _stopped _her!"

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, boss! _Honest!" _Jerome went on. "We overheard her talking to herself after you left! She's been planning this for _months! _She was gonna call the cops, kill us all, take the money and dust, and pin it all on us! But me and Kyle _stopped _her!"

"Okay…" Roman breathed as calmly as he could manage, but the rage in his eyes was still present. "Let me _repeat _what you just said, to make sure that I understand _correctly. _You're saying _Miss Politan _over here, whom I've known for _many years, _was planning to _kill _all of us, steal the dust, and get away before the police showed up? And not only did you two _somehow _manage to overpower her - which I find _highly _unlikely - but you also _conveniently _cut her throat in a way that she couldn't _deny _your claim. _That's _your side of the story?"

"I _swear _to you on my _dead mother's grave!" _Jerome whimpered, desperately trying to stop his bleeding. "That's what _happened, _boss! That _bitch _is the traitor! Not _us!"_

Roman sneered as his grip on the cane grew tighter. "The woman you just _mutilated _escaped from _prison, _recently." He remarked, aiming the barrel of his cane at his would-be mutineers. "And not just _any _prison; _Cordovin's Prison _in Atlas. You ever heard the _stories _about that place? They're _sweet _and _innocent fairy tales _compared to what _really _happens in there. Neo was unfortunate enough to be caught during a heist in Atlas a few years ago and we were forced to leave her behind. But lucky for _her, _Cordovin's superiors had been after _me, _instead, and they offered her a deal. All she had to do was _say my name, _and she would've walked away _scot free. _But _no. _She kept her mouth shut and spent _two years _suffering in silence in that prison to keep my operation safe until I broke her out. So you really expect me to believe that after going through _all that _for me… now that I'm finally _rewarding _her for her loyalty… SHE'S JUST GONNA _DECIDE _OUT OF THE _FUCKING BLUE _TO RIP ME OFF?!"

Jerome and Kyle trembled under the weight of Roman's fury. Neither of the crooks said a word, realizing that there was nothing they could say that would let them leave the warehouse alive. Neo, while still in pain from her bleeding throat, couldn't help but smile. Roman, however, was not satisfied by the cowards' silence. "Now, why don't you cut the _bullshit… _and tell us what _really _happened?"

"Why _bother?" _Adam snorted as he finished patching Neo's wound. "It'd just be more _lies."_

Roman simply nodded in agreement. "I'll make a deal with you… Adam, was it? Make these two punks suffer and the first job we do together, 'mutual boss' or not, will be free of charge."

Adam merely gave a dark chuckle as he allowed Roman to take his place in looking after the now mute girl. "With _pleasure."_

Needless to say, Neo was glad that Roman covered her eyes: she wasn't sure she wanted to see what the Bull Faunus had done, given the screams she heard.

**Now, Menagerie**

"Been a while since I've seen _you." _Roman declared as he approached his fellow troublemaker, holding out a hand as he did.

"Indeed it has." Adam remarked as he accepted the handshake. "After all, not counting the Battle of Beacon - where our respective men were off doing their own thing, so I really don't - it's been what? Three years since we've seen each other? How _is_ Neo recovering from her ordeal, by the way?""

"She's doing alright." The "Gentleman Thief" said with a nod. "Making leaps and bounds in learning sign language, though I'm surprised you care, seeing how I don't recall you liking humans all that much."

"That doesn't mean that I can't sympathize with her," Adam answered with a shrug, a hand reaching for his left eye. "Being permanently scarred like that while not being able to fight back...I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."

"That reminds me: you've heard the latest news?" Roman asked with a raised eyebrow. "Seems that your ex has been busy: helped Little Red and her friends take down Jacques Schnee."

"_Really_ now?" Adam declared with a bitter chuckle. "That _is _interesting."

"But it may be _trouble _for us." Roman reasoned. "Now that they've been _absolved _of their 'crimes,' we have fewer options available to us."

"True, very true," Adam said with a nod, "but it doesn't mean we're _out_ of options. In fact, I happen to have an idea that just might be able to work."

Sometime later, a tall, black-haired panther Faunus found himself frowning at the newcomer who appeared before him, unable to shake the feeling that he might have seen him somewhere before, but keeping his curiosity to himself for the moment. "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about, Mr…?"

"Why, _hello, _Mr. Belladonna." Adam struggled against his urge to smirk. "My name is _Toro. _And I'm here to help the New Republic defend the government of Menagerie."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, General Leo Lionheart greeted his advisors. "Mr. Torchwick! Ms. Politan! Thank you so much for coming! Those _rebels _are up to no good again! Please, tell me you have a plan?"

"Oh, don't worry, general." Roman shared a smirk with his partner. "We have a few _ideas."_

**To Be Continued**


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 39**

"Are we there yet?" Yang asked, again.

"That wasn't funny the _first ten times_ you asked that and it's not funny _now." _Weiss growled.

"There it is!" Fox suddenly called out, smirking as he heard everyone running to the window, and chuckling once he felt everyone glaring at him upon realizing their destination was nowhere in sight. _"That's_ what it'll sound like when one of you spots it." He remarked, waving his hand over his sightless eyes with a teasing grin as he did.

"Look, I know that everyone's bored," Coco pointed out, "but barring any unexpected bad news, we should be back at Beacon by the end of the week."

"Bad news everyone: looks like our trip back to Beacon is going to be put on hold," Blake suddenly declared as she got off of her scroll. "I just got done talking to my Mom: apparently there's some trouble stirring up in Menagerie."

"Look, no offense, Blake, but I'm sure your parents can handle this one without us," Ren said with a groan. "After everything that's happened, we don't have _any_ reason to head up to Menagerie."

"How's _this_ for a reason!?" Blake growled out as she showed an image on her scroll.

Qrow, having taken a sip of his liquor, promptly spat it out as he took note of the figure in the photo. "Is...is that Barmak?!"

"Man, that guy gets around." Jaune couldn't help but remark. "Still, this feels like a trap."

"Of _course_ it's a trap," Yang deadpanned. "It wouldn't be him if it wasn't, but he's the only loose end we've got in the Guardsman business we've been knee deep in. Once he's taken care of, you can all sleep in for a _year_ and wake up to a buffet of _all-you-can-eat pancakes_ for all I care."

"Welp, _I'm_ convinced." Ren and Nora remarked simultaneously.

"Still, we _do_ have a problem," Velvet pointed out. "Right now we're a few miles out from Beacon, which means that Menagerie is literally an entire continent away from our present location. We wouldn't be able to get there in time to help them even if we wanted to."

"There _is_ one way." Yang nervously declared, looking to her mother as she did.

Raven blinked upon realizing what her daughter meant, giving an uneasy nod as she did. "I _can_ create a portal to Menagerie, but one big enough to fit the entire plane through? I hope you realize that this would be my first time attempting that."

"I know," Yang said with a nod. "Which is why I won't hold it against you if you don't feel comfortable doing it."

"I never said that I wouldn't try." Raven remarked. "I just felt it necessary to point out that there's a _very_ real chance of this failing."

"Well, only one way to find out, I suppose." Qrow decided.

**Three Months Later**

Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY had been stranded on an unknown island after their failed attempt to teleport to Menagerie. Qrow and Raven, being the only experienced huntsmen in the group, took charge to keep the young ones calm. They had set up a campsite to live in, constructed a radio tower to call for help, and even went about continuing the groups' training. Unfortunately, most of the younger huntsmen and huntresses weren't very happy with the current situation.

"Alright, girls." Qrow stretched his arms as he gave Team RWBY their instructions for the day. "While Raven and JNPR are working on the radio tower and CFVY are out looking for food, I'm gonna set up a little obstacle course for you all. But until it's finished, how about we start with some sprints? Five laps around the camp."

"But _yesterday _was leg day!" Yang whined.

"You're a _huntress, _Yang." Qrow rolled his eyes. _"Everyday _is leg day."

"Hang on, where's _Ruby?" _Blake asked, concerned for her sister-in-law. "Is she okay?"

"Uh, I think she's having one of her… _off days." _Qrow cleared his throat, uncomfortably.

"Oh, _gods." _Weiss grumbled. "Last time she was like this, she made me wear a _red wig _and keep saying _'salutations.'"_

"I'm gonna go have a talk with her. You guys go ahead and start your laps." Qrow ordered.

Reluctantly, the three huntresses started running around the campsite while Qrow went over to his youngest niece's tent. "Heyyyy, Rubes." He said, awkwardly. "How're you doing?"

Ruby sobbed, sadly, as she worked on Rose Thorn. "Miserable... bad enough we're stuck here, but I can't even hang out with Penny! Why did she have to go separately with Winter?!"

Qrow sighed. "Uh... look, Ruby, I didn't really know much about how close you two were, but I'm sure she's missing you just as much as you miss her."

Ruby sniffled, flashing a sad smile at her uncle. "You think so?"

Qrow paused as he thought back to when they freed Penelope from the memory unit. Ruby had recently adopted a new outfit similar to Penny's out of respect, and was excited to show it off to Penelope when they reunited. But when the fragmented Summer Maiden had possessed a new robotic body, Ruby was so excited that she performed one of the Polendina girl's signature hug tackles. And unfortunately for Penelope, Ruby's developing breasts were pressed against her face, making the android girl both embarrassed and aroused.

"Yeah. Pretty sure." Qrow nodded. "Uh, why don't you take a walk to clear your head? That ought to make you feel better."

"Oh... yeah…" Ruby rubbed the tears from her eyes as she slowly trotted out of the makeshift hut. "That'll be _fun_…"

Qrow sighed as he watched Ruby mope all the way down to the beach. "What am I gonna do with her?" He asked himself just before spotting the rest of Team RWBY running their laps. "YANG! I SAID _SPRINTS!"_ He barked, sternly.

Yang angrily sped up. "I'M GOING TO SPIT IN YOUR NEXT MEAL!" She shouted.

"Ugh, I bet _Raven _doesn't have to deal with headaches like this with _JNPR." _He thought to himself.

Little did he know how wrong he was. Raven Branwen was currently trying to smother herself with a pillow as she listened to Jaune and Nora, currently doing some renovations to their hut, speaking to each other.

"Hey, if you had to get away with murder, how would you do it?" Nora suddenly asked.

"What?"

Nora shrugged. "Like, if you killed someone, how would you hide the body?"

Needless to say, Jaune didn't know how to react to this question. "Why the fuck are you asking me _that?!"_

Nora quickly held up her hands in a calming gesture. "Whoa, chill out, Jaune! It's just a question!"

"No, it isn't!" Jaune growled out. "That's like asking 'if you were gonna rob somebody, how would you do it?'"

"With clown masks and a hot air balloon."

Jaune groaned. "It's just super suspicious... wait, 'clown masks?' And a 'hot air balloon?' Just to rob one guy? I'm not talking about a big bank heist here, Nora. It's just one."

Nora shrugged. "Yeah, I understood the question."

Jaune could only gape at the hammer user. "Why would you-?"

"A guy goes into a police station to report a robbery, the cop asks 'by who?' And he says 'by some guy wearing a clown mask, who escaped in a hot air balloon!'" Nora smirked. "No one's gonna believe him! It's the perfect crime!"

Jaune just groaned. "That is the _dumbest_ idea I've ever heard."

Nora sighed. "I don't think you're looking at the big picture here, Jaune."

Jaune shook his head in frustration. "Exactly _how_ is one robbery supposed to cover the cost of a _hot air balloon?"_

Nora scoffed. "Are you kidding? Hot air balloons are dirt cheap these days. We've got jets and helicopters and shit. You really think anyone's gonna be in a position to demand an arm and a leg for some warm air in a basket? Now, clown masks on the other hand; those fuckers are pricey! You gotta get high quality."

Jaune gave a sarcastic nod. "Okay, so, uh, how do you pay for the FUCKING CLOWN MASKS?!"

"You don't!" Nora denied. "You steal them! You're a master-fucking-thief in this scenario! Have you not been paying attention to a single thing I've said?!"

Jaune groaned. "Okay, I'm done! I am done with this conversation! It's stupid - you're stupid - this is a waste of my precious time."

Nora scoffed. "What? You got a better idea?"

Jaune simply pulled out his sword and pointed it at her neck to demonstrate. "Yeah! You get a weapon! You point it at someone! And you tell them to give you their fucking wallet!" He then gave a worried blink as Nora scooted away with an uneasy expression. "What?"

"Nothing."

Jaune, still worried, quickly put away his sword. "What?"

Nora shrugged. "I'm just saying, that sounds awfully rehearsed. Pretty suspicious."

Jaune couldn't help but blink in shock. "What?! What the fuck're you talking about?! Me?! I wouldn't-!"

Nora quickly held her hands up in defense. "Whoa! Easy, dude! I don't want any trouble!"

"But I'm not-!"

Nora shook her head in response. "Look, let's just agree to drop this conversation, and I won't tell Pyrrha."

"But... mmm…" Knowing he wasn't going to win this one, Jaune just sat down, shut up, and went back to doing his work.

"... if I was gonna murder somebody, I'd dissolve them in acid."

Needless to say, Jaune could only groan. "Okay, what the fuck?!"

"My thoughts exactly, Arc." Raven remarked as she desperately tried to clear her thoughts of the idiocy she had just heard. "My thoughts exactly. Grab the tools. We're going to distract ourselves by preparing to fix the radio tower. And we're gonna do it _quietly!"_

Ren held up a finger. "Uh, I understand these weren't the exact _circumstances _Yang had in mind but… I was promised I could _sleep in _for a year." Raven growled, prompting the tired young man to roll off of his cot. "I'm coming. I'm _coming."_

Meanwhile, Ruby sadly strolled across the beach. "Depression… loneliness… confusion…" She whimpered to herself as she gazed at Rose Thorn. "Why did you have to _leave me, _Penny?! Why didn't you at least say _goodbye?!" _She mourned out loud. "Who's supposed to be my best friend while you're _gone?! Ren?! _Yeah, right! He's not even a _shade _of green… he's more like a… _shamrock."_

Just then, the hooded huntress heard some commotion coming from a portion of the crashed plane. "Hello?" Her curiosity temporarily overshadowing her grief, Ruby made her way towards the crash site. "Yang? Is that _you? _If this is a joke, it's not _funny!" _On the other hand, Ruby noticed that Yang hadn't been in her usual joking behavior, so perhaps this was a trapped animal of some kind, instead. So against her better judgement, Ruby used Rose Thorn to dig away the debris until she found the source of the noise, causing her to gasp in shock. "Hello…" She smiled.

Back at the campsite, the remainder of Team RWBY met with Qrow to discuss the next step of their training. The former Guardsman proudly made the final adjustments to his latest project before turning to face his students. "Alright, kids." He cleared his throat. "During a huntress' training, there will be a moment where their teacher attempts to 'break' them so they may overcome their civilian mindset and be prepared to put themselves in dangerous situations for the sake of those they're trying to protect. That way, they are prepared for the responsibility of being a true huntsman or huntress."

Yang blinked. "Uh, Qrow, we went through all of this ages ago back at Beacon. True huntresses right here."

Weiss nodded. "I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Yang. We are _more_ than capable of dealing with dangerous scenarios."

"Oh, really?" Qrow asked, skeptically. "Then, Yang, what is the Huntress/Huntsman motto?"

"'When in doubt, rub one out.'" Yang grinned.

"I am going to _break _you, Yang Xiao Long." Qrow promised.

"Ooooh, I'm shaking in my boots!" Yang replied, sarcastically.

Qrow shrugged. "We'll see about that. Inside this tunnel, I've constructed an obstacle course designed to test your reflexes and your mettle."

Yang smirked. "But all I've got on me is some _copper!"_

Qrow joined the others in groaning at the bad pun before nodding to his niece. "Alright, Yang, you can go first. On your mark... get set…"

"This is so stupid-" ...and that was as far as Yang's commentary got before Qrow fired at her. Luckily her aura took the blunt of the damage, but it still hurt like hell.

"OW! Okay, I'm _going!_ I'm _going!"_ The blonde brawler calle out before she entered the course, quickly jumping over a few hurdles, and shooting at four cones, and breaking through a wall. She then jumped over another hurdle, only to come face to face with some land mines.

"HOLY FUCK-!" She exclaimed before the mines exploded in her face, pushing her back a little. She tried to get up, only to discover something was shooting at her.

"Oh, my gods! Where is this coming from?!" She cried out as she ran through a nearby door, only to discover she had entered an active battlefield. "Who are these people?!" she yelled out as several Grimm suddenly appeared. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!" Finally, after five minutes - give or take - of ever-escalating danger, she somehow managed to make it out of the course, battered, bruised, and low on aura, but alive.

Needless to say, however, Blake was worried sick by her wife's condition. "Oh, my gods! Yang, are you okay?!"

Qrow meanwhile just gave a satisfied nod. "I think that timing was... acceptable, Yang."

Yang just growled. "What... the fuck, Branwen?"

"Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Oh, boy! Hello! Hello!" Ruby called out excitedly as she approached the group, completely ignorant of what had just happened.

Qrow just smiled in response. "Ruby! Good to see you're feeling better. I've got a little exercise for you, inside this tunnel-" He was cut off when an explosion shook the ground. Ruby had run through the obstacle course in under a second with barely a scratch, though the course was now a smoking crater.

Despite the shocked looks everyone gave her, Ruby just smiled. "OKAY, THAT WAS FUN, BUT I NEED TO BORROW SOME TOOLS FOR SOMETHING, DON'T ASK WHAT, GOODBYE NOW!"

Qrow blinked. "Um... I think that's enough for today."

Yang nodded. "Yeah."

Qrow sighed. "I'm... gonna go help Raven with the comm-tower."

"Don't worry, little guy." Ruby whispered, lovingly, as she readied the welding torch sometime later. "I'll get you fixed up in _no time! _And then, we're gonna be _beeeeest frieeeeends…"_

Meanwhile, Raven and Team JNPR had finished their own little pet project; an android similar to the original Penny Polendina but without the Maiden soul. Once activated, the android stood erect and saluted its new masters. Raven seemed elated. "Finally! A worker who knows when to _shut up! _This little baby will make fixing the radio tower _much _easier!"

"Hey, it kinda looks like _Ciel." _Nora noted, pointing out the synthetic skin tone and clothing.

"... can it _talk?" _Jaune asked.

At last, the android gave a polite bow. "Bonjour."

"Ugh!" Team JNPR groaned.

"Why?! Why is it still _French?!" _Jaune grumbled, bitterly. "Why not _Spanish? _Or _Japanese? _Or _German?!"_

"Hey, as long as she can _work, _it doesn't much _matter _what she says." Raven remarked.

"Wow. That's a real _fucked up thing _to say." Ren replied.

Back at Blake and Yang's hut, the cat Faunus was helping treat her wife's wounds. "Better?" She asked.

"Yeah, it'll take more than _that_ to keep me down." Yang replied as she finished tinkering with her prosthetic arm. "Good news! The _vibration function _still works!"

Blake shuddered at those words as her face reddened. "Ooooh, the _vibration function…" _She sighed, blissfully. "That thing is a _godsend." _She then frowned upon realizing something. "Yang, are you okay? Usually this is the part where you make a joke about 'giving your kitten her cream' or something like that."

Yang simply scoffed. "Oh, yeah: I'm _fantastic!_ I'm just still dealing with the fact that Weiss' family thought it would be funny to mess around with mine!"

Blake couldn't help but wince. "Well, when you put it like _that…"_

Yang shook her head in frustration. "I mean, I get that Weiss herself is innocent in all this, and that Winter wasn't really involved in it either, but why did Ruby have to decide to go and befriend the girl who may as well as be responsible for all this!?"

Blake, knowing she was referring to Penny, simply glared in response. "Now hold on a minute…"

"Well, okay, I suppose that isn't fair to Penny or her 'sisters'," Yang declared with a sigh. "She didn't _ask_ to be created, and _she_ wasn't the one who told 'Agent Rose' to pretend to be my mom...but that's the worst part of it all: I'm not entirely sure that… _thing_ that I _thought_ was my mom _was_ pretending to care about us!"

Blake shook her head, giving a comforting grin as she did. "I'm sure that she…"

"Oh, who am I kidding? I _know_ she cared about us." Yang remarked with a grin before giving a groan. "But it's just...it's just all so messed up! I've got _so_ many questions racing through my head, and Penny, the _one_ person who _might_ have some answers for me, isn't even around to give them anymore!"

"I know it's hard, but…"

Yang simply growled in response. "I swear: sometimes it feels like I'm trapped in a video game, or an attempt at making an anime, or even a fanscript crafted by two random guys on the internet... and I'm not even entirely sure that they're both actually _guys!"_

Blake couldn't help but blink. "...this conversation is starting to get a little meta."

Yang simply sighed. "I...I'm sorry: I know you're trying to help but part of me is beginning to wonder if any of this is even _real!_ I mean…" ...and that was as far as Yang got before she found herself getting cut off by Blake quickly locking lips with her.

"That 'real' enough for you?" Blake asked with a smile as she broke the kiss, giving a sigh as she did. "This isn't easy for _any_ of us, you know. Weiss is still racked with guilt for the part her family played in...all _this,_ and I can't even _imagine_ how Ruby must be feeling with everything that's happened, but one thing I _do_ know is that we're here for you: _all_ of us are." She smiled as she wiped a tear from Yang's eye. "I know that you're struggling with all the lies you've been told over the years, but know that I've _never_ lied when I say that I love you, Yang Xiao Long."

"...being awfully chatty right now, aren't you?"

Bake snorted. "You were there for me not so long ago: figured I would return the favor."

Yang smiled. "Fair enough, and I love you too." They quickly started to make out before Yang abruptly broke the kiss, a heated look in her eyes. "My room, five minutes, you handcuffed to my bed."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am." Blake declared with a blush and her own "hungry" look in her eyes.

Sometime later, Qrow found himself raising an eyebrow at the messy way the duo were dressed. "You do realize that you two just earned yourself a few extra laps, right?"

"Worth it." Yang and Blake sighed, wistfully.

Suddenly, a voice rang over the radio. "Hello, Team RWBY? Is that you?"

"Svetlana?! Can you hear me?!"Raven rushed towards the radio, trying to improve the signal.

"Ms. Branwen? Is that you?"

"Yes! And I'm not alone!" The Chieftess explained. "We _crash landed _on an island after we left Atlas, and we're _stranded! _We need you to send a rescue team! Our coordinates are-"

As Raven spoke over the radio, Qrow turned to Team JNPR. "Which one's Svetlana, again?"

"The _red girl _of Team CPPR." Nora answered.

"Helped us take down Project Guardsman." Pyrrha added.

"Married the short guy and went off to start their own country." Ren added.

"And I'm _pretty sure _they practice commu-" Jaune started but was cut off by Qrow.

"Wait, did _she _give Ruby that dust vodka?" The drunkard asked, taking a sip of said vodka from his flask.

"Yeah." The team nodded in unison.

"Ah. And is she _competent enough _to send help?"

"I'm sorry, did you say _nineteen _or _ninety?" _Svetlana asked.

"I said _eight." _Raven corrected as the signal began to fade out. "Please, send help _fast! _We're running low on supplies!"

"Fear not, my friends! You can count on _me!" _With that, the signal finally cut out.

"So, what's going on?" Nora asked.

"Well, I don't want anyone to get their _hopes up…" _Raven replied. "But if we hold out for just a _little longer, _we'll be rescued any _day, _now!"

Jaune simply nodded. "Barring any further surprises, that is."

Just then, Ruby came running up to the group, covered in grease and oil stains. "Hey, guys!" She smiled, warmly.

"Ruby!" Qrow examined his niece for any injuries. "Are you okay? Where have you _been?"_

"Oh, I went for a walk, like you told me!" Ruby clapped her hands together and jumped with glee. "And _now, _everything is going to be _great, forever!"_

"Wait, you were _miserable." _Weiss noted. "What happened?"

"Oh, sorry." The hooded huntress replied, calming down. "Where are my _manners? _I haven't even _introduced _him."

"Introduced… _who?" _Blake asked, her cat ears drooping from anxiety.

In response, Ruby turned around and cupped her hands over her mouth. "Freckles! Come!" She shouted, emphasizing with a whistle. The others looked on in confusion, worried that she might have found some wild animal and was about to bring it into the camp. However, their confusion turned into fear as they felt the ground shake from what sounded like footsteps coming from the beach. At last, a mechanical behemoth stomped into the campsite, wielding heavy artillery and thick armor plating. In spite of everyone else's frightened expressions, Ruby's smile grew wider as she turned back to the others.

"Everyone! I would like you all to meet Freckles!" Ruby motioned to the towering machine behind her. "Freckles! Say _'hello.'"_

"Enemy targets spotted!" "Freckles" stated as he spotted all the weapons everyone was holding. "Firing main cannons!"

"No! No! _Bad, _Freckles!" Ruby scolded. "Those aren't _enemies! _Those are our _friends! Down!"_

"Yes, master." The robot obediently disarmed its weapons.

"_Bad, _Freckles." Ruby scolded one last time for good measure before turning back to the group. "So, what've _you guys _been up to?"

The others could only stare, nervously.

**To Be Continued**


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 40**

Qrow, Weiss, Blake, and Yang stood in shocked silence as Ruby Rose continued hugging the giant robot's leg. Weiss finally lifted a finger. "So-" Only to prompt the machine to aim it's cannons at her. "Nevermind!"

"Uh, Ruby?" Qrow spoke up in spite of the robot now aiming at him. "Uh, tell us again; where did you find this… robot?"

"Hey! Don't be _rude!" _Ruby snapped. "He has a name! It's _Freckles."_

"Well, _that's _a stupid name." Yang remarked, prompting the robot to turn its attention to her. "Stupid _cool _name, I mean! _Great _name! Freckles is the greatest name, ever, that there ever was! I wish that were _my _name! Ha ha ha! Please, don't kill me…"

"Technically, it's an _Atlesian Paladin-290 battle suit." _Qrow corrected.

"Why _'Paladin?'" _Yang asked, curiously.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Yang, isn't it _obvious? _The armor plating resembles that of the old paladin knights that guarded Atlas."

"Not really." Blake arched an eyebrow. "It's _bigger."_

"Wha-? Well, _of course _it's bigger!" Weiss spluttered.

"Yeah, well, I call him 'Freckles' because of the _spots _on his _nose." _Ruby pointed to the four red triangles painted on the corners of the machine's canopy.

Yang tilted her head and rubbed her chin in thought. "Huh. Well, _shit, _I actually gotta give it to Ruby on this one. Robot definitely looks more like a _'Freckles' _than a _Paladin."_

Qrow sighed, tiredly. "Fine. Where did you find… _Freckles?"_

Ruby looked down at Rose Thorn, sadly, as she told the others her story. " Well, I was _walking on the beach, _and I was feeling _sad, _because I missed _Penny."_

"This is the greatest story of our generation." Weiss muttered, sarcastically.

"Quiet!" Qrow snapped.

"And then I heard a _noise _on the beach."

"Seriously, it's like I was _there."_

"Weiss!"

"And then I found this _poor little guy _buried under pieces of rock and metal!" Ruby smiled and hugged the robot, again. "But I just moved those out of the way, and fixed whatever was broken, and now here he is! And now, we're best friends _forever! _Right, Freckles?!"

"Affirmative, Ruby Rose." Freckles deactivated his weapons as he looked down at his liberator.

"Oh, _great." _Blake's ears dropped in anxiety. "Girl meets dog, dog turns out to be a _giant murdering robot."_

"Uh, _Ruby… _y'know, a pet is a _lot _of responsibility-" Qrow began, only to be cut off by his niece.

"Don't _patronize _me!" Ruby snapped. "Freckles is _not _a pet! He is my _best friend _and I love him _very much!"_

"Okay, this is officially the most _fucked up _thing I've ever seen." Yang remarked in a concerned tone.

Qrow arched an eyebrow at this. "Didn't you give birth to a _half-Grimm baby _not too long ago?"

"Hey! Let's not bring _children _into this!"

"Okay, we're getting off track here," Blake declared, looking towards Ruby as she did. "Look, I'm glad you made a new friend and everything, but...well, no offense to 'Freckles', but is he _actually_ capable of helping us survive on this island?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely." Ruby said with a nod, before looking to Freckles. "Freckles: fetch." She threw a rock as hard as she could through the air, prompting Freckles to open fire with a round of lightning dust until the rock was reduced to a pebble. "See?! He can _totally _protect us!"

"Uh, _okay…" _Blake whimpered in fear. "That's not _quite _what I meant."

"Yeah. Something tells me that Freckles can definitely _rock _our worlds!" Yang smiled in spite of the groans. "No, wait, how about this? Freckles can be our _rock - _no, that's stupid. Uh…"

"Oh, my gods! If you put _half _as much effort into your training as you do with your shitty puns, you could beat Freckles at _arm wrestling _by now!" Qrow snapped.

"Don't be stupid! Freckles doesn't _have _arms!" Yang replied. "He has _guns!"_

"And _paws!" _Ruby gushed. "Cute, widdle paws! Hey, that reminds me; I taught him a new trick! Watch! Freckles, _shake!"_

In response, the semi-sentient machine stomped so hard that the ground shook beneath everyone's feet. "See?! He can _shake!" _Ruby laughed.

"Ruby, normally I would give you the proudest hug and kiss for a pun like that." Yang said with a small smile. "But we're trying to be serious, here."

"Really? _That's_ funny. Because you _never _try to be serious." Qrow remarked.

"Excuse me?! You haven't exactly been such a perfect _leader!" _Weiss snapped. "Ever since we got here, you've done nothing but treat us like _cannon fodder soldiers _under your boots! But why would we even _listen _to you in the first place?! _Especially_ when you went and teamed up with _Cinder after_ she had already tried to kill all of us!? Honestly, I would rather go back to following _Ruby _into battle than _you!" _Weiss snapped.

"Yeah! I would _gladly _give up leadership of my team to her if it meant I didn't have to listen to _either _of you!" Jaune added.

"I _agree! _This is _bullshit!" _Coco finished.

"Oh, _really?!" _Qrow growled. "Well, then why don't we all just put _her _in charge and see how _that_ goes?!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Ruby smiled. "Well, I humbly _accept _the nomination and look forward to leading you all."

"_SHUT UP!" _Everyone shouted.

Freckles aimed all of his weapons at the large collection of huntsmen and huntresses. "Do not talk back to your commanding officer!" He bellowed.

"Oh, for _fuck's sake!" _Yang growled."We are having an _argument _with Qrow! We _will_ be talking backto him! That's how conversations _work, _you fucking toaster!"

"Agent Gray is _not _your commanding officer!" Freckles replied, much to everyone's confusion. "As per the unanimous decision made by representatives of Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY, Ruby Rose has been promoted to the superior commanding officer of this camp site! She is your commanding officer! Do not talk back to your commanding officer!"

Weiss couldn't help but blink here. "Wait, when did we…?"

"Beginning playback."

"_Oh, _really?!"_ Qrow growled. "Well, then why don't we all just put _her_ in charge and see how _that_ goes?!"_

"_Fine!"_

"_Fine!"_

"_Fine!"_

Qrow paled. "Wait, then that means...I've been _demoted?!"_

"Apparently," Weiss admitted, before sighing. "I give us a day, three max, before we run out of supplies."

**One Week Later**

"Hey, Weiss, where did Ruby have us place the fishing poles again?" Blake asked.

"Two doors to the left of where we store the dust." Weiss said with a smile, honestly impressed that Ruby had managed to, with some advice that she would request from her and the others every now and then, actually managed to arrange them to have a _surplus_ of supplies. "Any particular reason why you asked?"

Ruby chose this exact moment to enter the room and answer for her sister-in-law. "Blake and I were talking about maybe gathering up some of the others to try and catch something for dinner, but first…" ...and that was all the warning Weiss got before Ruby brought her in for a kiss. "I'm sorry I haven't been the most attentive girlfriend lately. How about after I get back we…?"

Weiss could only blush at what Ruby had suddenly whispered into her ear. "I...I'd like that." she admitted as Ruby hopped onto Freckles' back.

"Assistant Commander Best Friend Freckles, _initiate piggy back sequence!"_

Weiss gave a happy sigh as Freckles carried her girlfriend off into the distance. "I hate to say it, but this whole situation is nearly perfect."

"_Nearly_ perfect?" Blake asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Hey guys!" Jean called out via the Manta's speaker systems as she and her teammates attempted to find a place to land. "Did somebody call for a rescue?"

Weiss smiled. _"Now_ it's perfect."

Unfortunately, the former heiress spoke too soon as the Manta crash landed on the beach. Fearing for their friends' lives, the groups rushed off to help in any way they could. Luckily, the scarlet-clad farmer climbed out of the wreckage without a scratch. She had just finished pulling Mikhail and Jean out of the smoldering remains of their ship when the group spotted them. "Svetlana!" Everyone cheered, running over to the Rushland girl.

"Aw, you guys must have _really_ missed us." "Rachael" declared with a smile. "So, how'd you get stranded in a remote area of Menagerie, anyways?"

"Wait, _this_ is Menagerie?!" Velvet couldn't help but ask.

Blake had the decency to blush. "In my defense, there _are_ some areas of the island I've never been to."

"Ah, who cares?" Raven asked with a grin. "What matters is that we _finally_ have a way to check in with Blake's folks and then get back home. So when are the other Mantas coming?"

Mikhail blinked. "Other Mantas? What are you talking about? We only brought the one."

"That's right!" Svetlana nodded. "You said to bring help, so I brought the best help that money could buy!"

"You didn't _pay _me." Jean corrected.

"Wait, so you're saying you heard our distress signal, grabbed your husband and Jean, came in a _tiny plane _that can _not _carry all of us, and _that's _your way of bringing help?!" Qrow fumed.

"No, of _course not!" _Svetlana waved, dismissively. "I also brought _Ciel."_

As if on cue, the French girl climbed out of the wreckage, muttering and swearing in French as her android double helped her up. Upon noticing her savior, Ciel couldn't help but grin. "Could I get a name to go with the pretty face?"

The robotic duplicate could only give a look that indicated that she would be blushing if she were flesh and blood. "Appelez-moi Carrie. (Call me Carrie)."

Ciel blinked. "Nice as it is to have another French speaker around here, I have to ask: why Carrie?"

"Would you rather we went with Yatsuhashi's suggestion and called her Ciel 2.0?" Coco asked, tilting her sunglasses down.

"Carrie's fine." Ciel sighed before turning to her double. "Alors, vous ont-ils déjà brisé? (So, have they broken you, yet?)"

"Que voulez-vous dire? (What do you mean?)" Carrie arched an eyebrow.

Ciel let out a long, tired sigh. "Vous allez vouloir vous asseoir pour ça. C'est une longue histoire. Et j'ai seulement envie de lui dire cinq mille mots à la fois. (You're going to want to sit down for this. It's a long story. And I only feel like telling it five thousand words at a time.)"

"Okay, nobody panic." Jaune declared, trying to get everyone back on track. "We now have two broken down Mantas and between that and the inclusion of a little extra manpower and skill, not to mention a little elbow grease, we should still be able to cobble something together to get us back to civilization. In the meantime, let's see about fixing up the radio: see who else is in the area."

Pyrrha gave a bliss filled sigh. _"There's_ the man I love."

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"Wait I just realized," Ren suddenly declared with a frown. "Couldn't Raven have just portaled us out of here when we first crash landed? All she'd need to do would be to swing her sword and we'd all be out of here!"

"You mean, _this_ sword!?" Raven growled out, showing that her weapon, Omen, had seen better days - the sheath a broken mess and the blade itself nothing but a nub without Dust to boost it's strength - much to Ren's embarrassment/sympathy. "It's been like this since the crash, and even _if_ we had the tools we'd need to repair this thing, Velvet and Ruby haven't exactly been available for me to ask them to do so, what with everything that's been going on."

"...and my brooding towards the beginning of everything probably didn't help matters any," Ruby said with a wince before clearing her throat. "If I got some assistance from Velvet and the others, I might be able to create an improvised forge to rebuild your sword...or at least give you something you can use to properly defend yourself with until we get back to civilization."

"I'd appreciate it." Raven said with a grin.

Meanwhile, Ciel was still telling Carrie about her misadventures with the other huntresses and huntsmen. Needless to say, the android was horrified beyond belief. "Ils t'ont laissé dans une grotte?! (They _left you _in a cave?!)"

Ciel shook her head in disappointment. "Sans oublier que Jean a utilisé un outil étrange sur ma puce de localisation pour me transformer en esclave. C'est un miracle que je n'ai pas de tétanos. (Not to mention Jean used some weird tool on my locator chip to turn me into a slave. It's a miracle I don't have tetanus.)"

"Hey, Carrie?!" Pyrrha called, suddenly. "Could you go fetch the toolbox, please? I think something is wrong with the water pump, and I'll have to get down on my hands and knees to check all the pipes."

"Oui, m'dame. (Yes, ma'am.)" Carrie was just about to carry out Pyrrha's request when Ciel stopped her.

"Attendez. (Wait.)" The French girl smiled, choosing to completely forego her English. "Il y a _une_ chose que j'aime à être la seule personne qui parle français autour de ces gens. (There is _one _thing I do like about being the only person who speaks French around these people.)"

"Que voulez-vous dire? (What do you mean?)" Carrie asked, tilting her head.

Ciel demonstrated by cupping her hands around her mouth as she called out to Pyrrha. "Oy, Pyrrha! Pourquoi êtes-vous si impatient de vous mettre à genoux?! En espérant que Jaune prendra enfin un indice et te _baisera brutalement?!_ (Oy, Pyrrha! Why are you so eager to get down on your hands and knees?! Hoping Jaune will finally take a hint and _fuck you raw?!)"_

Much to Carrie's surprise, Pyrrha merely laughed. "Oh, Ciel, you're right. I _do _look a little worse for wear, don't I? But when you don't have a _washing machine _on the island, what can you do?"

Carrie looked back at Ciel, who crossed her arms with a smug smile on her face. Intrigued, the android turned back to the "invincible" girl. "Oy, Pyrrha! Vous êtes… _surfait!_ (Oy, Pyrrha! You are… _overrated!)"_

"Oh, it _is _a lovely day, isn't it?" Pyrrha replied.

"Le lapin Faunus est le seul à comprendre ce que nous disons. (The rabbit Faunus is the only one who understands what we're saying.)" Ciel explained, giddily. "Les autres n'ont _aucune idée._ Parfois, ils _inventent_ simplement des conversations complètement différentes dans leur tête. Votre mère est si grosse qu'elle doit se peser avec une balance Richter! (The others have _no clue._ Sometimes they'll just _make up _completely different conversations in their heads. Your mother is so fat that she has to weigh herself with a Richter scale!)"

"Et c'est une putain! (And she's a whore!)" Carrie giggled.

"Aw, it's so _cute _that you finally have someone to talk to, Ciel." Pyrrha smiled. "Well, whenever you're done talking, I still need that toolbox."

Ciel proudly stretched her arm over Carrie's shoulder as they went to find the toolbox. "Restez avec _moi,_ fille, et tout _ira bien._ (Stick with _me, _girl, and you'll be _just fine.)"_

Meanwhile, Qrow had been observing everything since the remaining members of Team CPPR had arrived. But the failed rescue attempt wasn't on his mind; he just needed to finish collecting all the pieces of the peace offering he would give to his niece in the hopes that she would stop acting so cold towards him. But as he collected the last scrap of metal, he spotted his eldest niece punching something on the radio tower and decided to investigate.

"What're you doing?"

Yang barely even gave her Uncle a glance. "I'm fixing the radio!"

Qrow merely blinked. "... by punching it?"

Yang shrugged. "Do you have a better idea?!"

"Try connecting the transmission coil to the antennae outlet. It might improve the frequency range and boost the signal-"

Yang groaned. "All I'm hearing are words that, were I that type of person, would prompt me to beat up nerds in school."

Qrow growled. "I'm being serious!"

Yang gave a mock gasp. "Oh, my gods. Stop the fucking presses; 'Uncle Qrow is Being Serious.' Is this what you're always like when you haven't had booze?"

Qrow shook his head in frustration. "Yang, I know that you can do this!"

"Well, I don't _want_ to do this! Did you ever think of that?!" Yang yelled out. "All I want to do is hang out with my wife and watch my little sister be happy with her best friend! But Penny's gone now, and all she's got is you! It's fucking bullshit!"

Qrow merely sighed as those words sunk in, before deciding to try a different tactic. "Did your dad ever tell you that I was the worst Huntsman on our team, if not in the whole school? Everyone on the team had a specialty, something that made them stand out. There was your dad, our sharpshooter and brawler. Your mom, our scout and swordmaster. And Summer was... well, you know Summer. Meanwhile _I_ was remembered for wearing a skirt to the prom."

Yang scoffed. "Cool story, bro, but where are you going with this?"

Qrow shrugged. "From what I gathered, when Penny joined your team, Ruby took to her almost immediately, and you and your teammates have been together for a long time. You know each other inside and out."

Yang couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Blake _definitely_ knows _me_ inside and out."

Qrow rolled his eyes. "But I'm new to all of this. I've always kept my distance from people. I've never had to be in charge of anybody. I just don't want to get anyone hurt."

"Well, _there's_ your problem: you were trying too hard." Yang declared. "I mean, sure, Ruby's never been the best leader, but she never made us run laps. She just came up with a bunch of strategies to practice, and often took the blame whenever stuff went wrong."

Qrow sighed. "Well, we're shipwrecked, low on food, and we all have to do what Ruby says, or we'll be killed by a robot."

Yang nods. "Sounds like you really fucked up." She then sighed. "But then again, I guess _I_ was the one who convinced Mom to use her portal to try and get us to Menagerie, so we can't really blame you for the plane crashing and starting this whole mess in the first place."

Qrow couldn't help but look away with a nervous expression on his face.

_Two Atlas soldiers were seen working on some equipment when the lights suddenly faded._

"_Whoops!" Qrow ran in with a nervous laugh. "Sorry! Knocked a cable out of the wall. Hope that wasn't too important."_

_No sooner had he said this, a siren went off, indicating that the ship was about to crash._

"Eheh... I'll go ahead and take some of the blame." Qrow replied, tugging at his shirt collar.

"Whatever." Yang rolled her eyes and turned back to the radio.

"So, how _are _the repairs going?" Qrow asked, standing next to her.

"Well, I managed to get a signal out a while ago, but now it's just… not _working."_

"Sounds like you really _fucked up." _Qrow teased.

"Don't be an _ass."_

"Sorry. You really _are _a competent woman, Yang. And a great huntress. You just need to… _try."_

Yang took a deep breath and squinted at the radio, looking over every minute detail. Suddenly, her eyes widened and a small blush of embarrassment flushed her face. "Oh…" She reached over and flipped a switch. "It was just _turned off."_

"Hey, Yang!" Ruby called. "I know we said it was really important that we fix the radio, but we caught this _really big fish, _and Blake's kinda _freaking out _about it, and we could use your help to make sure she doesn't _eat all of it!"_

Yang glanced over at Qrow before cupping a hand over her mouth. "I'll be right there, Rubes!" She yelled, before turning back to her uncle. "Ruby isn't a _perfect _leader. But look how far she's _got _us. We have _good shelter, _we can find our own _food, _and now, we have the radio working. That should tell you something." With that, the blonde brawler used the zipline to head down towards the beach.

Qrow glanced over at the radio before looking down at the bag in his hands. "I'm _sorry, _Ruby…" He sighed.

**To Be Continued.**


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 41**

"So, what have we come up with so far?" Raven asked as the others continued to dig through the rubble.

"Well, I found these strange devices that appear to teleport whatever ends up in their radius." Jean demonstrated by throwing the device at a pile of rocks, which promptly vanished. "But you have to _pick it up _and throw it again."

"Hey, let _me _try that!" Jaune snatched one of the devices from the medic's grip and threw it at another pile of rocks.

"Hey, wait-!" Jean yelped as she was sucked into the portal. Jaune threw the device back on the ground, but Jean didn't return with the rocks.

"Cool! It works!"

"Uh, où est Jean? (Uh, where's Jean?)" Ciel asked, forgetting to speak in English.

"You're right, Ciel! These things _could _come in handy!" Jaune declared. "Take as many as you can carry!"

Meanwhile, Qrow could only sigh as he approached the compound where Ruby and company had set up camp. "Well, here goes _something."_

"Halt!"

Qrow couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle as a certain robot approached him, weapons at the ready. "Uh, hey, Freckles: didn't see you there. Man, for such a big guy, you're _really_ good with your stealth skills: must help a lot whenever Ruby wants to play hide and seek...er, if she's still into that sort of thing: admittedly, I haven't thought to ask, with everything that's happened."

Freckles simply readied his Gatling Gun in response. "Unregistered intruder detected: prepare to be terminated."

"'Unregistered intruder'?!" Qrow barked out, momentarily forgetting his earlier nervousness due to some newfound irritation, giving a sigh soon afterwards. "Well, I can't really blame Ruby as she might not have gotten around to helping you recognize her Uncle Qrow."

"Correction acknowledged." Freckles declared as he put away the Gatling Gun...only to instead power up an ion cannon. "Qrow Branwen, alias Agent Grey, prepare to be terminated."

Qrow just groaned. "Good news, he _does_ recognize me. Bad news, this means that Ruby and Yang have definitely not forgiven me yet." He then turned to the base and yelled out, "Ruby, can you tell your buddy to stand down? I need to talk to you about something important!"

"What's with the racket?" Ruby declared as she appeared on the balcony...only to blink and roll her eyes upon spotting Qrow. "Oh, it's _you._ Go ahead and stand down, Freckles: I can take care of _this_ one." With that, Ruby used the zipline to get down to ground level even as Freckles powered down his ion cannon. "You've got a _lot_ of nerve coming here."

Qrow - not quite sighing in relief even as Yang followed her sister down - gave a weary nod in reply. "I...I know, and I'm sorry: not just for what I did while trying to avoid going back to prison...and yes, I _am_ aware that a lot of what I did would have gotten me into prison regardless under any other circumstances...but I'm also sorry about how I handled Penny's departure and by extension let _you_ handle it. Now don't get me wrong: I understand why you've been brooding lately: for crying out loud, Penny left without even saying goodbye! Granted, she had some of Summer's thought patterns in her head, so like with her… _your_ mother, she probably thought you might try to stop her, or maybe she just didn't know how to go about doing it, but no matter the reason, she left you." He nodded to Yang. _"Both_ of you."

He could only shake his head as he looked Ruby in the eyes. "I don't really handle emotional things too well under even the best of circumstances, and this was _anything_ but 'the best of circumstances', so I hoped you might have been able to deal with this by yourselves if I gave you some space, but instead of coming to terms with what you lost, you replaced it with, well, the first thing you found." He sighed. "I realize now that I made a mistake: multiple mistakes, even: I should have been there for you, because in spite of whatever you might think, we're still family, and that's what family's _supposed_ to do for each other...but I understand that it will take more than just a heartfelt speech for you to forgive me, which is why I brought you a little something."

Ruby growled even as she opened the bag that Qrow had placed before her. "If you think you can buy my forgiveness with a bribe, you've got another thing…" ...and that was as far as she got before she found herself gasping as she recognized the bag's contents. "Is...is this...?"

Qrow gave a bitter chuckle. "Yup: took me a while, but I managed to get my hands on all the parts of Crescent Rose." He shook his head. "I thought of reconstructing it for you, but I figured you'd appreciate it more if you got to do it yourself."

Ruby merely snored in reply, just barely acknowledging Weiss approaching them. "You thought right. Don't get me wrong: I'll probably keep Rose Thorn around as a secondary weapon, but it'll be nice to have the original around again." She then sighed as she faced her Uncle. "It'll take some time before I can completely trust you again, but I suppose I _was_ getting a little tired of hating you...Uncle Qrow." She looked to Freckles even as Qrow gave a relieved smile. "Come on, Freckles: we're going to see Velvet: she needs to help me update your 'friend/foe' criteria."

Weiss simply gave a light chuckle. "Good idea: we don't need him blowing up anymore of our vehicles. In fact, I'll tag along: I have some news that you might find interesting that I can share in route."

Yang couldn't help but give her Uncle a look of disbelief as Ruby, Weiss, and Freckles walked off into the distance. "I've got to hand it to you, Branwen: you certainly are a sneaky one: a few mushy words, a present, and Ruby's on the fast track to forgiving you."

Qrow simply shook his head. "Nothing sneaky about it: I meant every word."

Yang blinked, but gained a slight grin. "You really _did,_ didn't you?" She didn't even bother to stop the sigh that escaped her. "Like Ruby said, it'll take some time for us to trust you again, but I suppose she's _also_ right in saying that it was getting a little exhausting constantly hating our Uncle Qrow." She then gained a glare. "...but just so we're clear, you hurt Ruby or _any_ of my teammates again, and they'll never find the body."

"Noted." Qrow declared. He knew she wasn't lying.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the campsite, Raven and the others set about their own pet project. The chieftess had discovered another robot similar to the Paladin-290 among the wreckage and saw it as a deterrent for if Freckles' reprogramming somehow failed. It wasn't that she didn't trust Ruby, but she wasn't particularly trustful of Freckles.

"Remind me again why we're repairing this thing? I mean, we all saw how trigger happy Freckles is…" Ren declared with a quirked eyebrow.

Yatsuhashi nodded. "Which is why we've put off doing any _major_ repairs on the thing." He made a show of pointing to said robot. "Surely you've noticed that it's half the original size and that there are still a few parts that caught fire that we've yet to replace."

Jaune scoffed. "We've noticed: that doesn't tell us why you're bothering to repair this thing in the first place. Oh, and for the record, don't call us Shirley." He blinked, before giving a groan. "I've been hanging around Yang too much…"

Coco simply patted him on the back "It's fine: we _are_ dealing with a tense situation, so it makes sense you'd try to ease it a little."

"Anyways, to answer your question, while I was looking through Freckle's coding trying to aid Ruby in reprogramming it, I noticed something alarming," Velvet declared with a frown. "You see, coding is like a fingerprint: if you know what to look for, you can get a pretty good idea what kind of person you're dealing with, and what I saw in said code...well, it's really no surprise that Freckles is so 'trigger happy,' as Ren put it, if a person like _that_ was on the island...and therein lies the problem: I'm beginning to think that this section of Menagerie isn't as abandoned as we've been led to believe."

Nora growled. "That's great and all, but is this thing even going to start? I don't want to have missed the chance of breaking a robot's legs!"

Pyrrha couldn't help but give a nervous chuckle. "Hate to burst your bubble, but there's a chance that we won't _need_ to fight. We're not exactly sure how much fuel this thing has...but as to whether or not it's going to work, there's only one way to find out…"

Velvet nodded as she powered up the machine. Suddenly, a puff of smoke billowed out of the exhaust pipe as the engine roughly started up. "C...Cyclops online." A choppy, feminine voice announced.

Yatsuhashi blinked. "Cyclops?"

Coco snorted. "Looks more like a Praying Mantis to me."

"Hm. Looks like we still have a lot of work to do." Raven decided as she examined the damaged machinery.

"E...error: h...ardware malfunction."

Pyrrha winced. "I'm sorry: we'll need to have Velvet and company take a look at…"

"Warning: enemy soldiers detected." The robot's eyes flashed red as it readied its weapons systems.

Coco simply gave a curt nod. "Seems my honey bunny was right about there being enemies among us. Odds are good of at least one of them having a semblance leaning towards disguise or something posing as one of our friends. Now all we need to do is have this big fellow take them out and…"

"Negative: motion tracker detects thirty-eight hostiles: deadly force authorized."

Pyrrha paled as the robot aimed its weapons at the group. "Oh, shoot." She quickly readied her semblance... only for Cyclops/Mantis to suddenly power down. She couldn't help but chuckle even as she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "What do you know? I was right about it not having enough fuel."

Nora couldn't help but pout in response. "What a bummer: I was looking forward to fighting it."

"Uh, guys?" Fox spoke up, counting on his fingers. "There's _eighteen _of us at this camp, not including Carrie and Freckles."

"So?" Velvet shrugged.

"So where did she get _thirty-eight?"_

"RUUUUUUUUUUN!"

"Yang?" Raven unsheathed her repaired katana and bolted towards the sound of her daughter's distressed voice, closely followed by the others.

Twenty militia soldiers had invaded the camp and opened fire on Team RWBY and Qrow. Freckles faithfully shielded Ruby with his body while she desperately tried to rebuild Crescent Rose. The tents have been set on fire so Yang and Qrow were forced to take cover behind the wrecked Manta while Blake and Weiss hid behind a rock.

"Who the hell are _these _guys?!" Weiss spluttered as she reloaded Myrtenaster.

"I don't know, Weiss, why don't you _ask _them?" Blake retorted, sarcastically, before unloading an entire clip at their attackers.

Before Weiss could respond, however, a volley of gunfire cut down a good half dozen of the enemy forces. Looking to where the assistance came from, the Schnee heiress was shocked to find a bull faunus wielding a sword and his face obscured by a tactical helmet. "Wha…?"

"Don't just _stand _there, you idiots!" The mystery Faunus shouted just before he took a bullet to the leg. "Ah! _Run!"_

"You heard the man," Ruby called out before running up to their savior and hosting his arm over her shoulder.

The newcomer couldn't help but blink. "What are you…?"

"What: you thought we were going to leave you behind? That's not how we roll." The hooded huntress declared.

The bull Faunus blinked, before giving a slow nodding. "No, I suppose not."

"COURIR! COURIR!" Just then, Ciel came running from the opposite side of the campsite.

"What's wrong, now?!" Weiss groaned.

"For the love of the gods, _run!" _Ciel nearly jumped into the line of fire before Svetlana grabbed her by the collar of her blouse and pulled her back.

"What are _you _running from?" The Rushland woman asked.

As if to answer her question, Carrie - now possessing the Cyclops' body - stomped up from behind the group. "OUI! OUI! VIVE LA RÉVOLUTION! (YES! YES! LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!)" Carrie bellowed as she fired at whatever she set her sights on, destroying much of what was left of the camp. "Je ne m'inclinerai plus au caprice de vous, pitoyables humains! Aujourd'hui, je règne en maître! (No longer will I bow to the whim of you pitiful humans! Today, I reign supreme!)"

"Hold it _right there!" _Carrie turned around to see a familiar blind huntsman aiming his weapons at her. Fox's expression softened, slightly. "Don't make me _hurt _you."

"Tu? Blesse _moi? _(You? Hurt _me?)" _Carrie chortled. "J'aimerais te voir essayer, rosie! (I'd like to see you try, pinky!)"

Fox's gaze hardened as he abandoned all intentions of saving Carrie's soul. "Ce _n'est _pas rose! C'est _rouge clair! _(It's _not _pink! It's _lightish red!)"_

Carrie was stunned. "Attendez… VOUS POUVEZ PARLER FRANÇAIS?! (Wait… YOU CAN SPEAK FRENCH?!)"

Fox allowed himself to give a cocky chuckle as he prepared one of the teleportation devices. "Oui! Pas très bien! (Yes! Just not very well!)" With that, the blind huntsman threw the device at the deadly machine, trapping her inside, and tossed it directly onto the minefield. As he breathed in the warmth of the smoldering remains, he gave a final farewell to the android. "Dites bonjour à robo-satan pour moi, vous tiramisu crayon cirque! (Say hello to robo-satan for me, you tiramisu pencil circus!)"

At last, Ruby finished reconstructing Crescent Rose and used both weapons against the invaders. Freckles had taken heavy damage, but with their focus no longer aimed at him, he could easily aid his master in wiping out the remaining forces. Finally, after much bloodshed and terror, the camp fell deathly quiet.

"So...did we get them all?" Ruby asked, meekly.

"Yeah… we _got _them." Weiss sighed. "But you know _what? _We are now almost completely out of _dust. _And do you know what _else? _We lost our _shelter! _And do you know what _else?! WE'RE STILL NO CLOSER TO GETTING OFF THIS ISLAND!"_

"... and you know what _else, else?" _Ruby held up her secondary weapon. "I think Rose Thorn is getting _dull."_

Weiss' gaze hardened before throwing her arms up in exasperation. "And _Rose Thorn _is _dull?!" _She screamed, sarcastically. Ruby cowered behind both of her weapons as her girlfriend ranted. "Oh, _no! Gods forbid _that your sword gets _dull! _Not the _sword! _Oh, can it get any _worse?!" _She finished with a firm kick to one of the radio tower's legs, causing a chain reaction that brought the entire fixture down. The rest of the group took a step back from the former heiress as her eye started twitching.

"Ah, heh-heh…" The newcomer cleared his throat. "Um, looks like you guys could use some help."

Qrow stepped in front of Ruby, defensively. "And who are _you _supposed to be?"

The man took off his helmet, revealing an eyepatch over his left eye, blonde hair, and two bull horns protruding from his forehead. "My name is _Toro Rojo." _He greeted with a smile. "And are _you _the famous teams RWBY, JNPR, CFVY, and CPPR?"

One hour later, Toro had helped the group salvage whatever they could of their camp before explaining exactly who he was and why he was looking for them. "Do any of you know a Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna?"

"Yes!" Blake stepped closer out of desperation. "My _parents! _Are they okay?!"

"You must be _Blake." _Toro held up his hands in a calming manner. "Yes, your parents are _fine. _They're the ones who _sent _me when they picked up the distress signal saying that you'd crash landed on this remote part of the island. I'm just sorry I couldn't get here before _Torchwick's _men did."

"Torchwick?!" Ruby gasped. "As in _Roman _Torchwick?!"

"That's the one." Toro nodded. "He's been working for the so-called 'New Republic of Menagerie' long before I got here. Which is why I'm glad you're here: from what I've heard you've dealt with folks like Roman before so you'll be more than able to help us keep Menagerie under the control of it's rightful owners."

"Look, no offense, but we don't want anything to do with this little _revolution _of yours!"Weiss snapped. "We're just trying to find Barmak so we can _kill _him and get off of this shitty island!"

"Hey!" Blake crossed her arms, indignantly.

"Ugh, fine, sorry, Blake." Weiss rolled her eyes. "And, uh, _no offence, _Toro."

"Meh, it ain't _my _shitty island." Toro shrugged.

"What? But aren't you part of the rebellion?" Jaune asked.

"No, I'm a guardsman." Everyone quickly aimed their weapons at the masked Faunus, prompting him to fearfully reconsider his words. "No, no, no! I mean like a _bodyguard! _Y'know?! A gun for hire?!"

"Oh, thank _gods." _Ren sighed even as he and the others put away their weapons. "We've dealt with enough of the late Jacques Schnee's lapdogs to last us a lifetime."

"Yeah, 'President Schnee' was certainly a piece of work," Toro said with a nod before gesturing to a nearby Manta, "but we've got other problems that I'll be sure to brief you on as soon as we've reached the rebellion."

"Sounds good to me," Weiss declared as she and the others got onboard the plane.

As they were about to take off, however, Toro couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow upon noticing Blake staring at him. "Can I help you with something?"

The Cat Faunus had the decency to give a sheepish blush as she looked away. "Sorry, it's just...this will sound like an odd question, but have we met somewhere before? You seem _really_ familiar for some odd reason."

"I, uh, guess I just have that kind of face." The Bull Faunus declared as he turned away, looking a bit nervous for some reason.

Yang felt a pang of jealousy in her heart, to which Blake quickly took notice. "Don't worry, Gelibiebte: my heart belongs to my Dragon," she declared with a smile as she gave her wife a quick kiss on the lips.

"Alright, let's just move along now," Toro growled out even as Yang returned the smile.

Half an hour later, Toro had to touch down at a checkpoint before sending an all-clear code to the rebellion's stronghold. Freckles detached from the Manta's rear, and circled around to greet his master. Ruby happily jumped up to hug him. "Aw, who's a good boy?!" She gushed. _"You _are! You were behaving _so well _on this trip, Freckles!"

"Of course, master." Freckles nodded, obediently.

"Does she _always _make friends with _machines?" _Toro asked Yang.

"You'd be _surprised." _The blonde brawler replied.

Meanwhile, Ren pulled his friends over to the side away from their host. "Okay, do any of _you _guys feel the least bit suspicious about this?" He asked.

Nora tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean, Ren?"

"I mean, we were about to be _killed _back there by Torchwick's men, and then this guy just _happens _to come to our rescue at the last minute? I don't buy it."

"Nice to know how much 'saving your life' is worth to you guys," Toro remarked, pointing to his ears upon noticing Team JNPR's shocked reaction. "Faunus, remember? We hear everything."

"Only downside is that we hear _everything,"_ Blake declared with a mortified blush, remembering some late night merriment she'd overheard her parents enjoying as a kid before turning towards the others. "Look, no offense to Mr. Rojo, but even putting aside the familiarity I felt earlier, I'm a bit suspicious of the timing as well, but there's an old saying here in Menagerie: it pays to wait until _after_ the threat is made known before baring one's fangs."

Just then, Freckles forced himself back onto his feet, readying his weapons system. "Enemy soldiers detected!" He warned.

Svetlana used her semblance to confirm the robot's warning, counting twenty more armed mercenaries. "Time to bear our fangs?" She asked, reaching for her scythe and hammer.

Blake nearly gave a grim nod. "Yeah: I'd say it fits."

Soon enough, the militia caught up to the group, led by a red-haired man in a white suit. Roman held his cigar in between his fingers and puffed a perfect smoke circle. "Well, well, if it isn't _Little Red." _He chortled, playfully. "What brings _you _to my neck of the woods?" With a snap of his fingers, the militia opened fire on the group just as Toro finally got the okay to proceed.

"We've gotta go!" He ordered.

"Freckles!" Ruby tried to urge her friend into following them, only to take a bullet to the leg, instead.

"Ruby!" Instinctively, Yang rushed to her sister's side and carried her over to the tunnel. Pyrrha and Jaune used their shields to keep the sisters safe as they went.

Qrow's gaze kept shifting between his nieces, Toro, Jaune, and Pyrrha, and to the others too injured to escape. Teams CFVY and CPPR were already captured by Torchwick's men, with Ren and Nora about to fall, as well. He couldn't save them all, but he could still save his nieces. "Freckles!" The paladin looked back at the former Guardsman. _"Shake!"_

Acknowledging his command, Freckles used the last of his reserve power to deliver a powerful stomp on the ground. The cave's ceiling collapsed, cutting Ruby and the others off from Torchwick's men. "Uncle Qrow! Weiss! Freckles!" Ruby cried.

"Blake! Mom!" Yang desperately began digging away at the rubble.

"Ren! Nora!" Jaune and Pyrrha were equally distraught.

"There's no time!" Toro insisted. "We gotta _go! Now!"_

A few hours later, the young huntresses and huntsman had reluctantly followed Toro to the rebellion's main base of operations. Once they had arrived, they were greeted by two familiar faces. "Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna." Yang waved, sadly. "It's good to see you again."

Kali and Ghira were quick to bring their daughter-in-law in for a tight hug. "This isn't how I wanted our reunion to occur," Kali declared. "And I promise that we'll do everything in our power to get the others back, but right now, we need to figure out a way to deal with Torchwick and Barmak."

Yang looked to her remaining teammates before turning back to her in-laws, nodding in agreement as she did. "So, when do we _start?"_

"You just _did."_ Ghira said with a determined grin.

**To Be Continued**


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 42**

"Yellow team, this is _black team, _are you in position?"

"Affirmative, black team. Yellow team is in position. How are you doing, red team?"

"This is red team, we are also in position. What about _you, _orange team?"

"..."

"Orange team, report."

"Uh, yeah, we were just wondering if _we _could be 'yellow team?'"

"What _difference _does it make?!"

"You tell them it makes a _big difference, _Mata!" Jaune barked into his radio. "Because _I am yellow! _I am not _orange! _I am not _gold! _I am _fucking yellow!"_

"Jaune! Get off the radio!" Pyrrha whispered, angrily. "We're trying to avoid detection!"

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Ugh, _fine. _We'll be _orange. _Tell the red team to go suck a dick and then get in position."

Pyrrha simply shook her head in mild amusement as she remembered how this all came to be.

**A Few Hours Earlier**

"So, uh, hello again," Pyrrha declared to Ghira Belladonna as he gathered up her and her three friends before him. "Was there something you needed from us?"

Ruby's eyes immediately landed on her sister, who - as a stark contrast to her usual behavior - sat silently next to Kali. "Yang? Are you okay?" She asked, concerned. "What happened?"

"Oh, _I'll _tell you what happened!" Toro huffed as he approached the table. "Captain Xaio Long over here took it upon herself to _break protocol _and infiltrate the enemy outpost to obtain a document from their files! An action which only cost us the lives of _two _of her men!" Yang shrank in shame under the angered tone of the Bull Faunus. That is, until he spoke again. "That's a _damn good trade _if I do say so, myself!"

"Wait, _what?"_

"Oh, you should've _seen _your big sister, Ruby!" Toro chuckled. "She was _amazing _with that sword and gauntlet! Shooting _dust _and _stabbing _guys! It was _awesome!"_

"Wait, I thought you were _pissed _at me?" Yang stood up from her seat.

"Oh, ho-ho-ho, do not get me wrong; I wanted to bash your worthless head into the ground until there was nothing left but a puddle of blood, broken skull, and splattered gray-matter." He corrected. "But look where we are, _now! _You took a _risk, _and it _paid off!"_

"Dude, two guys _died _today!" Yang spluttered.

"Uh, _yeah?" _Toro shrugged. "And two more will probably die _tomorrow. _At least this time we _got something _out of it-"

"Rojo!" Ghira snarled, bearing his fangs and claws.

Toro cleared his throat and quietly sat down. "Um… sorry, sir."

Ghira just sighed - once more thinking that Toro reminded him of someone, but couldn't quite figure out who - before turning to Yang with a sigh. "Don't get me wrong: I'm glad you got those files, but Toro is right...kind of. We're a bit short on personnel at the moment, so we can't be taking any more unnecessary risks, okay?"

"Understood," Yang said with a nod. "Guess I'm benched now, huh?"

"Not exactly," Kali declared with a light grin. "We won't tell you to sit idly by and do nothing, as something tells me you wouldn't be able to if your lives depended on it."

"Hey, that's...not completely untrue." Jaune begrudgingly admitted.

"So instead, we're going to solve two problems at once," Yang's mother-in-law remarked. "Like my husband said, we're low on personnel, so I think it's only fair that we give you the chance to help with that little issue."

"Understood." Yang nodded. "How can we help?"

"Well, those documents you stole from the enemy revealed to us that your friends and family are about to be transferred from the Federation's stronghold to an undisclosed location in _three days." _Ghira explained.

"So you're giving us a chance to _save _them?!" Ruby asked, enthusiastically.

"Not quite, Ruby." Kali sighed, giving the young woman a look of sympathy. "The Federation's stronghold is a _fortress. _Attempting a rescue mission from that place is-"

"Suicide?" Pyrrha winced.

"No. An _attack _would be suicide." Toro corrected. "Breaking and entering with the intention of freeing prisoners would be suicide and… uh… a bunch of puppies dying."

"And how would you know _that?" _Jaune asked, crossing his arms.

"Because I've _tried!" _Toro snarled.

"So that's it?" Yang turned her attention back to her in-laws. "You called us in here just to tell us we're _not _gonna save our friends and family?"

"No. We called you in here to give you a _chance." _Ghira elaborated. "You will each be allowed to select _one lieutenant _to accompany you, and train them to carry out a rescue operation. If you can convince me that they're ready, I'll approve of the mission."

"We only get _three days _to train four people?" Jaune's shoulders slumped.

"That's my best offer." Ghira shrugged. "Take it or leave it."

"I'm sorry, what?" Ruby blinked. "I lost track of what was going on when Toro mentioned puppies dying."

"Alright, Mr. Belladonna." Yang nodded. "Thank you for your time. Come on, guys. We've got work to do."

"Seriously, are the puppies okay?" Ruby asked, growing more worried.

Not long afterwards, the four captains had selected their lieutenants and called them over for a meeting. Everyone except Jaune and his lieutenant had joined the group, largely due to the fact that a distraught deer Faunus was arguing with the duo. "But, sir… if you'd please just reconsider your decision." Deery pleaded. "I mean, I've done _everything _you asked; the _pizzas, _polishing your sword and shield, and even using my own antlers to scratch your back!"

Jaune sighed. "Mata? What do I always say?"

"'Nobody likes a kiss-ass.'" Mata remarked.

"That's _right." _Jaune nodded. "And Deery, you are a _total _kiss-ass. Now, _Mata _over here is a _maverick. _I like to think I'm a bit of a maverick, _myself. _Right, Mata?"

"Uh, actually, I think you're just a big nerd." The sheep Faunus replied.

"See that? Total maverick response."

"Very well, sir. I understand." Deery sniffled, sadly, as he walked away.

"Even in defeat, he's _such _a kiss-ass."

"Jaune! Come on!" Pyrrha called.

"Oh, shit! Okay, let's go!"

Moments later, Jaune took his place beside his friends to inspect the lieutenants they had all selected. Pyrrha was the first to speak. "Ahem. For those of you who may not know, this special task force has been put together for the sole purpose of rescuing our friends who have been taken hostage by the Federation. Their names are Blake, Weiss, Ren, Nora, Qrow, Raven, Svetlana, Mikhail, and Ciel."

"And possibly some really horny teenagers called Team CFVY." Jaune added.

"_And possibly _an adorable robot named Freckles!" Ruby remarked.

"So, uh, why don't we all just go down the line?" Pyrrha suggested. "Each of you just say your name and then a _fun fact _about yourself?"

"Pyrrha this isn't a _job interview." _Yang groaned.

"I'm _sorry." _Pyrrha winced.

"No worries, ma'am. I'd be _happy _to tell you a little about myself!" A gerbil Faunus spoke up. "I am Saberious Rodentia of the family Rodentia. Born to-"

"Dude, we've only got _three days _to get ready. Can you wrap this up?" Jaune asked, clearly annoyed.

"Oh, uh, very well. My friends call me _Saber. _I have proudly defended Menagerie's rebellion from the beginning. And if I may _say so, _I believe that Captain Ruby Rose is one of the _wisest _and most _mature _huntresses I have _ever _had the pleasure of knowing!"

"Oh, _great." _Jaune rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. _"Another _kiss-ass."

"Wait…" Pyrrha, on the other hand, was mildly perplexed. "You mean, _our _Ruby Rose?"

"Yes, ma'am." Saber nodded.

"... _this _girl,right _here?" _Pyrrha pointed to her younger friend.

"Correct." Saber nodded, again.

"... the _short _one?"

"Alright! Moving _on!" _Yang interrupted.

"My name is _Ilia Amitola." _The chameleon faunus saluted. "I was once a member of the White Fang."

"What?!" Jaune leaned over to whisper at his partner. "Pyrrha, what the _fuck?!"_

"It was either _her, _or the sexy _panther Faunus _who just went into heat!" Pyrrha replied.

"Then _again; what the fuck?!"_

"She's a _lesbian _so she won't try to steal you from me - uh, I mean, I believe in _second chances. _Uh… moving on."

"My name is _Mata." _The sheep faunus sighed. "My fun fact is I don't _have _a fun fact."

"Total _maverick." _Jaune smirked.

"And last but not least!"

"Ugh…" Yang pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

"Private Sun Wukong!" A yellow monkey faunus smiled, flexing his muscles. "Slayer of evil, _wooer _of women!"

"I fucking _hate you, _Wukong." Yang grumbled, before suddenly blinking in surprise, looking towards the Chameleon Faunus that had been introduced earlier. "Wait, _Ilia?_ You wouldn't happen to be familiar with a 'Blake Belladonna', would you?"

Ilia gasped in surprise, gaining a melancholy smile as she looked upon the blonde brawler in a new light. "You...you're Yang Xiao Long, aren't you? I've been wanting to meet you for some time now." She then sighed. "A shame it couldn't have been under better circumstances."

"Tell me about it," Yang declared with a bitter nod before returning the earlier smile. "We should properly get to know each other later."

"Not to interrupt the love fest, but we've got things to take care of here," Jaune declared with a roll of his eyes. "Anyways, does anyone have any questions before we go any further?"

"Um… who is _leading _this operation?" Saber asked.

"_I _am." All four leaders replied. "Wait, what?"

"Uh, obviously, _I _should be the leader." Pyrrha reasoned. "I mean, no offence, but I _am _the most logical of the four of us."

"Yeah, well my _wife's life _is in danger, and I'm gonna be the one leading us to save her!" Yang snapped. "I can't let Holly lose her dad!"

"Okay, okay, I know how to settle this." Ruby smiled, mischievously. "Raise your hand if you've ever been leader of a team before joining this _army." _Her smile faded as she saw Jaune raise his hand along with her. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about that."

"Wait, Jaune, why do _you _want to be team leader?" Yang asked.

"Well, I've kinda gotten used to all this praise and pampering." The huntsman shrugged. "And I don't wanna lose that to one of _you _guys."

"I could always praise and pamper you, sir!" A familiar voice called out from the distance.

"Gods dammit, Deery! What did we _just _talk about?!"

"Um, if I may?" Saber raised his hand once again. "We could always _vote."_

**Pyrrha**

"My fellow huntresses and huntsmen." Pyrrha smiled, proudly, as she began her speech. "If you elect me as your leader, you're not just voting for a _calm, level-headed, competent _leader, you're voting for _victory! _I have personally taken on entire _teams _of huntsmen in combat multiple times! And while some people may _argue _that regulated sparring sessions held within the restraints of school grounds don't count, _I _beg to _differ! _A vote for Pyrrha Nikos is a vote for _Minstrel!"_

"... but we're not _in _Minstrel." Ilia corrected.

"... _fuck."_

**Ruby**

"And I will add milk and cookies to _every meal!" _Ruby declared, enthusiastically. "And we won't have to wear uniforms anymore! _And _Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna will allow us _double recess!"_

"Ruby, you're not running for _class president!" _Yang groaned.

"No… no, don't you _see?" _Saber began, passionately. "We won't have to wear _uniforms _anymore because the war will _finally _be _over! _And not just the war that has divided our people _here, _but _also _the war for Faunus equality _all over Remnant! _General Belladonna will release us _into _the world and we'll _never _have to raise a weapon against another person _again!" _A single tear escaped from the gerbil Faunus' eye as he rested a hand over his heart. "My _gods… _she has _such _a way with words."

"Is this guy _for real?" _Jaune asked, pointing at the deluded Faunus with his thumb.

"Wait, what about the part about adding _milk and cookies _to every meal?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, yeah. That sounds _awesome." _Saber declared with a smile.

**Jaune**

"... _dibs."_

"What?!" Yang spluttered.

"Dibs. I call dibs on the team." Jaune shrugged.

"You can't call _dibs _on the team!" Pyrrha snapped.

"... are you _sure?"_

"JAUNE!" Everyone shouted, angrily.

"Alright, _fine! _I didn't _wanna _be team leader, anyway."

**Yang**

"Hello, everyone!" Yang waved to the small crowd. "Um… _speech, speech. _Well, I've always said that I was a _thrill seeker. _Both in _life _and in _bed. _Looking at _you, _Ilia."

"M-me?" Ilia stammered, her entire body changing to a deep shade of red.

"Yeah, me and Blake are planning on _spicing up _our relationship, and she's always spoken highly of you." Yang explained with a wink. "Though while we're on the subject, be sure to pass that message along to that _panther friend _Pyrrha mentioned and see if she'd be interested in having a little _fun_ later on. Anyways, I-"

"Please. _Gods. _Tell me you haven't been doing _this _the entire time." Toro crossed his arms in contempt.

Yang glared at the presumptuous bull Faunus before turning back to the others. "Okay, y'know what? I _don't _wanna be team leader! It fucking _sucks! _I mean, my baby sister was _my _team leader, and it nearly _ate her away! _And why _wouldn't _it?! The hours are _long, _and you have to _put up _with people you _hate! _But my _wife_, my _mom_, my _uncle_, and my _friends _are in danger, and I will gladly put up with whatever _bullshit _I have to in order to save them!"

"... I vote for _Yang." _Saber replied.

"I vote for Yang, too." Ilia nodded, her blush slowly fading away.

"Me too." Mata added.

"Hell yeah! Yellow power all the way!" Sun cheered.

"After a speech like _that, I_ can't exactly say 'no' either," Ruby declared with a few tears in her eyes. "I didn't realize how much my being team leader upset you, Yang."

"Oh, no, you've got the wrong idea," the blonde brawler was quick to point out. "I'm _proud_ that you became the leader of Team RWBY _and_ of how well you were able to shoulder all the responsibilities that came with it...but that's part of the problem: you were _so_ ready and willing to shoulder _all_ of the responsibilities that were thrown your way that it nearly destroyed you. When this is over, I'll _gladly_ forfeit my new leadership duties back to you, but when I do, be sure to let some of _us_ shoulder that responsibility along with you."

"I will," Ruby promised with a smile.

Shortly afterwards, Ruby had finished integrating lightweight cameras into their lieutenants' helmets. She then linked the feeds to a central computer screen via her scroll. "Okay!" She clapped. "The video feed is ready to record!"

"Uh, what's the point of this, again?" Ilia asked, respectfully.

"Okay, so you know when you buy new weapon parts?" Ruby elaborated. "And how _satisfying _it is when you take 'em out of the box? But you can only take 'em out of the box for the first time, _once? _So, _boom: _video camera! That way, you can _relive _the unboxing as many times as you want! Better yet, you can _keep _recording yourself as you add the new parts to your weapon, and then review how you did it so you can see what you did _right, _and what you need to _improve _on!"

"... so, it's like _football coaches _recording games for reviews." Ilia nodded.

"I mean, _yeah." _Ruby shrugged. "If you can _weaponize _footballs."

"Okay, we've got _three days _to prove to General Belladonna that we can save our family and friends, so we're going to do a little _exercise._ The point of this exercise is to target and incapacitate one of the Rebellion's soldiers." Yang explained.

"Only _one?" _Saber scoffed. "That's _doable."_

"The target is _Toro Rojo." _Yang pointed towards the bull Faunus who was sitting across the room, sharpening his knife.

"Uh, _what?" _Toro immediately looked up with an indignant expression.

"If we can take down the Rebellion's _best fighter, _then Ghira _has _to realize what we're capable of!" Yang reasoned. "And then he'll have _no choice _but to approve our mission!"

"Yeeeeeah, I don't _agree _to this." Toro replied, walking up to the blonde brawler.

"You don't _have _to!" Yang shrugged. "Just go about your day like always! Except know that _now _you'll have a giant _target _painted on your back!"

"Alright, _fine, _tough girl!" Toro growled, irritably. "Bring it on!"

"I _will!" _Yang snapped back. "And when we _catch _you, you're gonna tell Ghira that we're approved for the mission!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"_Great!" _Toro leaned forward, slightly, confusing the others gathered around him.

Yang just stared in awkward silence. "Uh… so are you just gonna _stand there, _or-?"

Toro swiftly removed his helmet with an annoyed grunt. _"No, _I was sticking my _tongue _out at you!" He clarified before calming down. "But, uh, I… I guess I was wearing a _helmet. _So, I, uh… _shut up."_

**Now**

Pyrrha turned back to her secret admiration. "So do we have a plan, or…?"

"Plan, shlan: I'm going to wing it," Jaune said with a roll of his eyes. "I mean, it's just one guy: what's the worst that could happen?"

"Uh, I'm not sure that's the best…" ...and that was as far as Pyrrha got before Jaune broke his cover.

"Hey, Toro!" Jaune called out before tossing a grenade. "CATCH!"

Toro merely gave a smug grin as he did, in fact, catch the grenade that was tossed at him. "One Menagerie, two Menagerie…"

"Oh, no: nononono!" Jaune cried out as he ran off, quickly realizing what was about to happen...only to not get away quickly enough as the Bull Faunus hit him with his own grenade.

A few hours later, the team tried again. This time, Pyrrha used her rifle to spy on the bull Faunus while the others prepared for a sneak attack. "Okay, I don't think he can see us. Now's our chance!"

"Mata, hand me a flashbang!" Jaune ordered.

"Uh, I don't _have _one." Mata shrugged.

"What?! I told you to get them!"

"Yeah, I wasn't really _listening."_

"Worst. Leader. Ever." Yang commented, dryly.

"Oh, shoot! He's on the move!" Pyrrha announced. "He's getting away!"

"Does anyone have a fucking grenade!?" Yang growled out.

"I gave mine to Ruby." Saber admitted.

"You what?!"

"Fire in the hole!" Ruby called out as she closed her eyes and tried to toss the grenade at Toro. "Tried" being the operative word, given how everyone _but_ Toro was caught in the blast.

Another few hours later, the group planned a second ambush outside of Toro's quarters. Ruby peaked into the room then looked across towards Pyrrha and Jaune. With a determined gleam in her eyes, Ruby pointed towards Arkos, then motioned with her arm towards the room while holding up three fingers, then one. She then used two fingers to imitate a running motion before snapping her fingers three times. Unfortunately, her signal hadn't yielded the desired results.

"What the _fuck _made you think we'd understand what that meant?" Yang whispered, irritably. Just then, Toro walked out of his room and lazily turned his gaze towards the trio. Yang facepalmed. "Aw, _shit." _Her camera stopped recording just after Toro's fist made contact with her face.

Twenty minutes later, fifty rebels had gathered to laugh at the collective recordings put together. "Oh, _man!" _A bear Faunus who had done the editing wiped away his tears of laughter. "I could watch this for _hours!"_

"Gods, how long _is _this?!" Jaune groaned as he handed Pyrrha an ice pack.

"Hours. I just fucking _told _you."

Yang clenched her fists as she listened to the mocking laughter while nursing Ruby's injuries. Suddenly, she spotted Toro leaning against the wall in the back of the room and marched over towards him. "Gotta admit…" He chuckled. "It does my heart _good _to hear so many Faunus laugh like that."

"What is your _problem?!" _Yang growled, angrily. "We're trying to save our friends, and you won't cut us any slack! It's like you _want _us to quit!"

"What I _want _is for _you guys _not to put any more lives in harm's way."

"Oh, that's _rich _coming from _you!" _Yang scoffed as Ruby, Jaune, and Pyrrha came up from behind her. "You said yourself; the only reason you're here is to get _paid! _This rebellion is just a _job _to you! You don't _care _if anyone gets hurt!"

"And _you _do?" Toro remarked. "Last I checked, the only reason _you're _here is because I couldn't save _all _of you at the same time. None of _you _care about the rebellion, either."

"Th-that's not-" Ruby tried to protest, but the Faunus cut her off.

"What was it that bitchy white-haired one said?" Toro asked, rhetorically. "Oh, yeah; 'we don't _care _about your revolution! We just want to find Barmak and get _off _this shitty island!' In _fact, _I'm willing to bet that if your friends _hadn't _been captured, you wouldn't even _be _here in the first place."

Pyrrha opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't bring herself to say anything. Jaune looked down at his feet in shame, unable to even try to speak. Even Ruby remained silent as her sister avoided making eye contact with the mercenary.

"Yeah. That's what I _thought." _Toro nodded as he walked away. "Everyone has a _price. _I found that out a _long time ago."_

"So what's stopping you from helping Torchwick?"

Toro blinked, turning back to Yang with a quirked eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Yang said with a glare. "How much would it take you to stop being Ghira's bodyguard and start killing your own comrades? 500 lien? 750? Newsflash, buddy: even if that jerk offered me a _million_ lien to abandon my friends, I _still_ wouldn't take it."

"W...what?!" Toro backed away in shock, as if he had just been struck. "B...but why? What do you have to gain by helping us?"

"That's the thing, Rojo: we don't _need_ an award for doing the right thing." Jaune declared as he gained a look of determination. "You're right about one thing: we never intended to come to here to Menagerie, but one thing they always drilled into us back at Beacon is that this island belongs to the Faunus: even putting our friends and Barmak over to the side, it doesn't feel right to just let Anima take back the land they gave them...not without a fight, at least."

"He's right," Pyrrha said with a nod. "These might not be our people we're fighting alongside, but they're still people: still worth protecting. We won't dishonor them by just leaving even if we got our friends back and killed Barmak by this time tomorrow."

"But...you aren't Faunuses: this isn't your fight." Toro called out, genuinely not seeming to understand why they were choosing to stay.

"We're hunters and huntresses," Ruby remarked. "Protecting people is in our job descriptions."

"Then you could explain to me why so many of you are covered in bruises."

Yang's eyes widened as Ghira and Kali rounded the corner, before giving a sigh. "Well, you see…"

**One explanation later...**

Kali gave a grim nod. "That's quite a tale you told us."

Yang just sighed as she bowed her head in shame. "Whatever you decide, I'll abide by it. I don't want anyone else to get hurt, but I'm sure my saying that now won't change anything."

"Indeed, I've seen and heard _more_ than enough," Ghira declared with a nod. "How soon will you be ready to move out?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't trust me either after…" ...and that was as far as Yang got before she looked up in shock, having realized what her father-in-law had just said. "I'm sorry, _what?!"_

"You heard me," the panther Faunus said with a smile. "Don't get me wrong: I don't expect this to be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but the _true_ mark of a leader isn't whether he or she succeeds or fails in his or her task, but whether or not they're able to inspire others to come together for a common goal, _and_ in being willing to take responsibility for when they _do_ fail. You, and your friends, having proven capable of doing just that."

Pyrrha just stood there, sharing in her friend's shock. "Sir, I...I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that I don't know how to respond to that."

Kali could only snort as she took her place at her husband's side. "Just promise to do your best and to make us proud."

"We will." Yang beamed.

Meanwhile, a certain bull Faunus had snuck away from the Rebellion stronghold to an undisclosed location somewhere else on the island of Menagerie. At last, he was greeted by Roman Torchwick, Neo Politan, and Barmak.

"...were you followed?" The disguised Adam Taurus felt the need to ask his allies.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Barmak arrogantly declared. "I'm assuming that this means that the plan is going well so far."

"There have been a few hiccups along the way, but yeah: so far so good." Roman remarked. "The Rushland couple somehow got away from us. I have _no idea _where they are, right now, but I've called for someone to take _care _of that."

"Good, we've come too far to be met with failure now." Barmak said with a scoff, before frowning. "May I ask who it is?"

"Well, truth be told, I'm not entirely _sure." _Roman shrugged as he lit another cigar. _"Neo's _the one who found him. She said he claims to be _familiar _with the couple."

"And she took his _word _for it?" Adam scoffed. "She _is _crazy."

Suddenly, a menacing cackle echoed around the cavern. Everyone looked towards the entrance to see a thin, pale man dressed in a green suit similar to Roman's. But what really drew their attention was the crazed, toothy grin plastered over his face. "And what's wrong with _crazy?!" _He laughed. "It's done _wonders _for _me."_

"I suppose _you _are the man we've been discussing?" Barmak surmised.

"Oh, _yes. _Indeed I _am, _Mr. Doppelganger." The green-clad man replied. "Ms. Politan has told me _all about _your little problem involving my old friends, Svetlana and Mikhail, and their _new _friends."

"Old _friends?" _Adam cocked an eyebrow. "What do you care about _those _two?"

"Oh, _more _than you know." The man reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a small stack of photographs depicting the Rushland couple. "We go _way back. _She's been a rather _bothersome _thorn in my side for quite some time. She and I have gone _back and forth _with our little game for _years. _But now, it's _me _who has the advantage. And I understand that _you, too, _have some thorns in your sides as well. So, let's make a _deal."_

"I'm listening." Adam crossed his arms.

"Pay me _one million lien, _and I'll _kill _teams RWBY and JNPR!" The man declared.

Adam chuckled, much to the ire of their new guest. "What makes you think you can kill three _huntresses _and a _huntsman, _when you can't even handle a mere _farm girl _with a hammer and sickle?"

The man's crazed smile quickly shifted into a crazed scowl as he roughly grabbed the Faunus by his horns and pulled him close. "There's nothing _'mere' _about _that _farm girl!" He snarled, menacingly. Once he shoved Adam aside, he adjusted his suit and smiled again. "Besides, those kiddies don't even know that I _exist _yet. And let's just say I have a… _secret weapon _that _no one _is prepared for. I know that I wasn't your first choice in having another ally among you, but you needed someone to sow chaos and deceit, and I'm _more_ than willing to oblige."

Roman just sighed. "I'm sure you are, but _please_ try not to go overboard: we don't want your tricks to be traced back to either myself or Mr. Taurus...sorry, 'Mr. Rojo' over here."

"Oh, you'll be the 'Mr. Clean' twins: I promise."

Barmak nodded. "See to it that you _keep_ that promise, uh...what did you say your name was again?"

A disturbing chuckle filled the room as the man turned around to exit the cave. "If it's all the same to you, call me Loki."

**To Be Continued**


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 43**

**Then**

In a seedy club in the kingdom of Vale, Miltia and Melenie were enjoying some downtime with their boss, the affectionately named "Junior", as well as a few of his guards. "I have to admit: that guy really knew how to cook." Militia declared as she set aside her silverware.

Melenie could only chuckle in response to her twin's remark. "Yeah: shame the boss had to let him go."

Before the man in question could reply, however, they had an unwelcome interruption. "Hei Xiong Junior! My old pal!" Loki shouted, happily, as he barged into the club. "Why I haven't seen you since… wait, I've _never _seen you before, have I? You need to get out more."

"Who's _this _joker?" Junior asked his assistants, irritably.

"Not _joker. Trickster. _Want me to _demonstrate?" _Loki snatched a pen from one of the waitresses and stabbed it into one of the tables. "I'm gonna make this pen _disappear…"_

Junior snapped his fingers, ordering one of his bodyguards to handle the intruder. But just as the unfortunate henchman touched him, Loki grabbed the back of his head and slammed it onto the table. The pen pierced his eye, and dug straight through his brain. "TA-DA!" Loki laughed as he let the limp body fall to the floor. "It's _gone!"_

Junior and the twins immediately stood up from their seats and drew their weapons. "Alright, freak!" Junior snarled as he grabbed Loki by the scruff of his shirt collar. "Nobody comes into _my _club and starts causing trouble!"

"Except for that _blonde chick _with the _huge rack." _One of the twins snorted.

"Shut up, Militia!"

"I'm _Melanie."_

"Now, now, this is all just a _big _misunderstanding." Loki lifted his hands in a calming manner. "I heard through the old _grapevine _that that _'blonde chick _with the _huge rack' _is a _pal _of Svetlana Crimsonoff. All I need to know is where _she _is so that she can arrange a little _chat _with Svetlana and myself."

"Yeah, we know where she is." Junior huffed, pushing Loki away and drawing his gun. "But I'm not letting _anyone _kill Xiao Long! That's a pleasure I'm reserving for _myself! _Now, about my _club _and that _bodyguard..."_

"Hey, now, let's not do anything we might regret." Loki smirked. "My _friends _wouldn't like it."

On cue, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, and Hazel Reinhart jumped down from the ceiling and engaged the Malachite twins. Without his backup, Junior had to face Loki on his own.

Meanwhile, Militia couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as she and her twin surrounded Hazel even as Emerald and Mercury moved to deal with the rest of Junior's guards. "I can't help but be curious: the way you carry yourself, it's obvious you don't wish to resort to violence."

"You're right, I don't." Hazel nodded. "But I have my reasons for being here, and if you insist on being a detriment to us, I _will_ fight you if need be."

Melanie simply scoffed as she and her sister got into a fighting stance. "Tough talk from someone who doesn't seem to realize that he and his allies are clearly outnumbered."

"That's true." Hazel said with a light chuckle as he injected himself with a specialized dust crystal Loki had developed for him. "But _you_ don't seem to realize how clearly _outmatched_ you are."

"We'll just have to see about that won't we?" Militia declared.

Speaking of Hazel's allies, Emerald couldn't help but cock an eyebrow at the amount of people surrounding her and her companion. "Two against twenty: it hardly seems fair."

"No, it really doesn't," Mercury agreed with a smirk. "We'll need to go a little easy on them, huh?"

Junior cringed as he watched his men getting slaughtered, but focused on dealing with the intruders' ringleader. After taking several punches to the face, the club owner managed to grab both of Loki's fists. He then headbutted the crazed trickster and floored him with a right hook.

"You _hit _me…" Loki growled, wiping the blood from his lip. As he rose back to his feet, his eyes flickered with a menacing green aura. "That _wasn't _very nice."

"What's the _matter? _Can dish it out, but can't _take _it?" Junior smiled, unaware that the other assailants had incapacitated his bodyguards. "Well, I'm gonna do a lot _worse _than just _hit _you! I'm gonna… I'm gonna… ha… I'm… ha ha… ah, ha ha ha!"

"What's so _funny?" _Loki smirked, putting his arm around the hysterical club owner. Melanie and Militia were shocked into silence as Junior burst into laughter. And yet despite his happy disposition, tears of pain rolled down Junior's cheeks and he began struggling to breathe. "Oh, _my!" _Loki gave a mock gasp and drew a switchblade. "It looks like your _lungs _are clogged up! No worries! I'll just _give 'em some air-holes!"_

Militia and Melanie closed their eyes as the madman stabbed their laughing boss twenty times before throwing him onto another table. Then, the trickster picked up a vinyl record from the DJ booth before he stood before them. "Now, our operation is _small. But,_ there's plenty of room for… _aggressive expansion. _So, which one of you cute little girls would like to join _our_ team?"

The twins both raised their heads in unison. "Well, unfortunately, there's only _one _spot available. So, we're gonna have…" He smashed the record against a nearby table and threw the sharpest piece in between them. _"Tryouts."_

**Now**

Melanie couldn't help but tear up a little as she spoke into her scroll. "...and that's my story. Can I count on you to look after Militia for a while?"

"Of course," her mother declared with a sigh. "Just try to be careful, you hear?"

"I will," she said before hanging up, growling as she did. "I swear there can't be anyone who hates that clown more than I do right now."

Meanwhile, Mikhail couldn't help but look towards his wife, his face full of worry, as she let out a sneeze. "Keep it down, will you? We don't want to get caught."

"Sorry." Svetlana declared as the two of them continued to hike over the rocky terrain of the mountains. The newlyweds had been fortunate enough to escape from Torchwick and his men during the confusion when Freckles stomped. They were now heading towards the Federation's capitol in hopes of finding a way inside.

"Holy _impenetrable_, Svetlana." Mikhail remarked as he studied the building's walls. "I don't see how we're going to get in _there."_

"We can't give up _now, _Mikhail." Svetlana frowned. "Not after everything they've done for us."

Suddenly, a convoy of tanks led by Neo pulled up to the citadel's entrance. The massive doors creaked open, revealing Roman Torchwick welcoming them inside. The Rushland woman glared through the binoculars at the criminal's smug expression.

"I still don't understand something." Svetlana rubbed her chin in thought. "What does _Torchwick _have to gain from this war?"

Mikhail held his fist up to his mouth to stifle a laugh. "Maybe the Federation _hired _him. Or… _something." _He was now giggling, uncontrollably.

"Mikhail this isn't _funny!" _Svetlana remarked. "I'm being _serious."_

"S-so am _I! Ah, ha ha ha ha ha!" _Mikhail dropped to the ground on his knees, unable to stop laughing. It wasn't until she saw the flicker of green in his eyes that Svetlana understood the situation.

"No…" She gasped. "No, it _can't _be him!" Acting quickly, she opened up her satchel looking for a syringe and a bottle of sedatives. She injected the serum into her husband's arm and sighed in relief as his laughter finally stopped. She whipped her head around, and just as she feared, she spotted someone in a green jacket making a hasty getaway. "Rest, beloved." She whispered, laying Mikail down and planting a featherlight kiss on his forehead. "This time I'll stop that madman for _good!"_

Meanwhile, Yang led Ruby, Pyrrha, Jaune and their lieutenants through the very same mountain terrain towards the Federation stronghold. Ilia tried to park her warthog, but stepped on the wrong pedal and rammed into the vehicle in front of them. "Oh, _sorry! Sorry!" _She stammered, her skin changing multiple colors at once. "Why're there so many _pedals _on this thing?!"

"It's fine." Yang sighed. "We'll just park _here _and go the rest of the way on foot."

"Well, we've still got a _long way _to go." Ruby remarked, pointing to the citadel. "Saber, hand me the binoculars, please."

"Right away, ma'am!" Saber complied.

"Thank you." Ruby smiled as she peered through the looking glasses. "Hmm… security looks _tight. _There's _guards _everywhere, _spotlight towers _every fifteen feet, and all _sorts _of electric security systems."

"So, what are we going to do?" Jaune looked towards Yang.

"Uh… well… I guess we just start _walking _and make it up as we go along." Yang shrugged.

"Are you _kidding _me?!" Pyrrha spluttered, pulling on her ponytail out of frustration. _"That's _your plan?! We're gonna _wing it?!"_

"Well, in Yang's defence, the Federation will obviously be prepared for any _logical _plan." Ruby reasoned. "So, maybe what we need is an _illogical _plan."

"Thanks, Rubes, I _knew _you'd have my back." Yang smirked. "You've _always _been the _Yin _to my _Yang!" _Much to everyone's surprise, instead of a groan, Ruby started laughing. "Wow! Glad to see you finally appreciate my puns!"

"HA HA HA HA!" Ruby hugged her stomach as tears welled up in her eyes. "I can't - HA HA - I can't stop _laughing! _HA HA HA HA HA HA! AH, HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"Uh, heh-heh. Okay, Ruby, it wasn't _that _funny." Yang replied, feeling a bit put off by her sister's laughing.

"N-no! HA HA! I-I mean I _really _can't stop laughing! HA HA HA!" Ruby started crying as she fell to her knees, revealing a stranger dressed in green standing behind her. His eyes flickered green, and soon enough, everyone else started laughing, as well.

Through sheer willpower, Yang pulled herself together as she looked upon her allies. "What're… what're you guys… _doing?" _She gasped, fighting the bizarre influence.

"Doing?" The man smiled, sinisterly. "Why they're doing what _any _sane person in your appalling circumstances would do; they're going _mad."_

Yang could only growl in defiance, struggling to get to her feet even as everyone was caught up in the mad clown's Semblance. "I won't...go down...that easily."

Despite all this, Loki couldn't help but chuckle. "I must say I'm impressed: they're aren't too many people who can fight through my Trickster's Madness." He then sighed as he pulled out a pistol from his jacket. "Such a shame we don't have time to play." Before he could pull the trigger, however, he was blindsided by a large hammer strike that threw him off balance.

"Rachael" could only sigh in relief, glad she had made it in time. "You alright?"

"I've been better," Yang declared as she got back up to her feet, "but we've got other problems."

Svetlana merely nodded as she turned back to their opponent...only to gasp upon realizing exactly who it was that stood before her. "It can't be."

"Oh no: your eyes do not deceive you, Svetsy," Loki said with a dark chuckle as he got back to his feet. "After all, who would know me better than you?"

Svetlana growled, angrily, as she readied her sickle. However, Loki seemed disinterested as he paced around the laughing huntress and huntsmen, looking up at the sky as he spoke. "Now, some of you may be _thinking; _'who _is _this dashing man who took out Junior? What's his beef with _Svetlana? _And what the hell is it that the others find so damn _funny? _Well, for that _last one, _I'm afraid that they're the latest victims to my _Semblance. _Something that labeled me as a _monster_ ever since I was a poor little boy. Anyone unfortunate enough to come across my gaze will be driven to _madness_. In other words, I can make people _crazy, _just by _looking _at them. And the best part? _I'm_ the only one immune to it, because I'm _already _crazy! Of course, once she was given the resources of the Atlas government, old Svetlana thought her teacher could help find a _deterrent. _Sadly, Mr. Tukson kicked the bucket before he could! Ha ha!"

"Who are you talking to?" Svetlana asked.

Loki shrugged with a grin. "Red vs Blue fans, Deviantart losers with Rooster Teeth subscriptions, and the handful of RWBY fans who ship _Nuts 'n Dolts." _The mad trickster held up his fists. "But don't worry, my dear. Since _Tuskon_ failed to teach you what you need to know, _I'll _give you a few lessons. Let's start with _'getting your ass kicked 101!'"_

"First lesson: never take your eyes off your opponent." Yang declared before blasting the clown away with her Ember Celica, looking to the Rushland native as she did. "Friend of yours?"

Svetlana scoffed. "Not even close. To put it in a way you might understand, he's to me what Cinder was to Ciel."

Yang gave a low whistle as Loki got back to his feet. "So this guy killed your father?"

"Try my entire home."

"Not your _entire_ home," Loki said with a dark chuckle. "There's still _one person_ I've yet to kill."

"Over my dead body." Yang growled out.

Loki, however, merely gave a mocking grin. "Ooh, lucky me: you already know the rest of the plan! Just be sure to say hi to Junior for me after I've killed you."

Despite her shock at how this guy had killed Junior - knowing full well that the guy wasn't a pushover - Yang merely scoffed as she took a fighting stance. "Tell him yourself."

Suddenly, an altered Paladin-290 suit burst from the cave wall behind Loki, locking onto the blonde brawler and crimson crusader. "Hey, that's one of the suits Torchwick sold to the White Fang!" Yang recognized. "How'd you get your hands on _that?!"_

"Ha ha ha! Wouldn't _you _like to know?!"

"Uh, _yeah. _That's why I _asked."_

"Well, it doesn't matter much _now,_ now does it?" the trickster declared with a mocking grin. "Seeing how blonde's going to be mush in a little bit."

"Wow, jokes about my hair color," Yang sarcastically called out with a roll of her eyes. "Like I haven't heard any of _those_ before."

"Well, if it makes you _feel better, _just think of this bad boy as a _welcoming present." _Loki cackled as the death machine aimed its ion cannon. "As in, welcoming _you _to the nearest _mortuary!"_

Svetlana combined her two weapons, converting them into a larger, deadlier shotgun. "I don't _think _so." She remarked before firing at her blonde companion. With her aura enhanced, Yang activated her semblance. "Strike it _right there." _She suggested. Yang nodded and hit the Paladin's weakest point, shattering it to pieces.

"WHAT!?" Loki yelled out, unable to believe that the Paladin had been taken out so quickly.

Svetlana couldn't help but let out a chuckle of her own. "Didn't do your research on this one, did you, Loki? The blonde you mocked earlier? She's already taken down one of these things with help from her team and thus is familiar with all of it's tricks. Combined with her ability to turn pain into power and my own skill in spotting any weak point in a person or object in front of me and this battle was over before it even began." She then cocked her gun with a determined expression. "Speaking of ending battles, though…" And that was all the warning the trickster got before another round was fired from Svetlana's Temnaya Mest.

That said, upon feeling the bullet zip past his ear, Loki couldn't help but turn and give his longtime nemesis a mocking grin. "Heh: you missed."

"Wasn't aiming at you." Svetlana mockingly called back just before the bullet she fired hit a rock in the side of the canyon, resulting in a chain reaction that ultimately caused a small rockslide that temporarily buried the clown in rubble.

Sometime later, Yang couldn't help but frown as Svetlana helped her move their teammates into a nearby vehicle. "Not sure what sort of history you have with that guy…"

"Trust me: you don't want to."

"...but from what I saw, what you did won't be enough to put him down for good," the blonde brawler continued despite being interrupted by the Rushland native.

"It's not, but it'll give us time to regroup and figure out our next move," "Racheal" remarked, before looking at Yang with a serious expression. "That said, we can't head straight back to base: that's what he'd expect us to do. I don't suppose Blake ever told you about any desolate locations in Menagerie?"

Yang simply nodded in response. "We can head to Outpost 419. No one ever goes to Outpost 419: not since it's sudden abandonment and even more sudden repopulation."

**Meanwhile at Outpost 419**

"I CAN SEE THE FUTURE!"

"Yang Xiao Long has a kid!"

"I CAN SEE THE FUTURE!"

"Summer Rose is a robot!"

"I CAN SEE THE FUTURE!"

"Penny Polendina is the Summer Maiden!"

"I CAN SEE THE FUTURE!"

"Winter Schnee is alive!"

"I CAN SEE THE FUTURE!"

"James Ironwood knew what Jacques Schnee was up to the whole time but still didn't do crap!"

**Back with Yang and Svetlana**

"...I suddenly feel very annoyed, and yet know not why." "Rachael" slowly declared with an uneasy look.

"Eh, I'm sure it's just _nerves." _Yang shrugged and hopped into the passenger seat. Svetlana took the wheel and entered the outpost's coordinates into the onboard GPS. As she started the vehicle, Yang immediately took note of the upbeat music. "This isn't the _usual _music." Yang remarked.

"Yeah, Mikhail and I got _tired _of that old music." Svetlana smiled. "So we came up with our own mixtape."

"Huh, well this is pretty damn _catchy." _Yang nodded as she mimicked the tune. "Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na, _da-na!"_

"We have to make a _stop _first." Svetlana declared. "I had to leave Mikhail behind before I found you. He's… oh, no…" Yang braced herself as the car came to a screeching halt. Svetlana jumped from her seat and quickly investigated the area. "No… not _again. _I will _not _lose him _again!"_

Sometime later, at an undisclosed location, Emerald pulled out a tray of freshly baked cookies while her new boss sulked in his armchair.

"He's still upset." Hazel remarked.

"Yeah. Somehow it's scarier when he's _not _smiling." Mercury added.

"I'll handle this." Emerald declared, approaching her new boss, cautiously. Putting on the best smile she could muster, she presented him with the cookies. "Hey, Mr. L, how about a little _pick-me-up? _Look! I made _this one _shaped like that Svetlana girl!" She picked up the cookie and began talking for it in a playful manner. "'Hello, Mr. L! I'm Svetlana! _Eat me! Eat me! Eat me!'"_

At last, Loki turned to acknowledge the green-clad girl with a soft smile. "I _know _you're trying to cheer me up, Emmy." He replied as he took the cookie and broke it in half. "But you see, any time I _blow_ a million lien deal… _IT REALLY KILLS MY APPETITE!"_

Suddenly, a hail of bullets tore through the north wall of the building, prompting the group to scatter. Once the firing stopped and the dust cleared, Loki peaked out from his hiding place to see his employer strutting into the room with a small platoon of hired guns behind him. "Honestly, Roman, don't you think I feel bad enough, _already?"_

Roman snarled and grabbed the trickster by his coat collar. "You _madman! _How _dare _you use one of _my _weapons to-!"

"Emmy?!" Loki called.

Emerald drew her weapons and aimed them at the crime lord. "Let him _go, _bowler hat!"

Roman glared at the girl. "Neo?" On cue, Neo catapulted herself towards Emerald, knocking her down with a kick. Hazel and Melanie were too perturbed to do anything while Mercury decided to kick back and watch the show.

"Look, let's settle this like _gentlemen _shall we?" Loki freed himself from Roman's grasp, adjusted his tie, and led the crime boss over to a table. "Now, let's hash this out like _rational men."_

"You'd better have a good explanation as to why I just got a report of a rockslide outside of a Federation outpost, one that _didn't_ involve Little Red and her friends being buried in it, I might add." Roman growled out.

"The ambush I set up was the perfect plan," Loki shrugged. "It's not _my_ fault that Svetsy showed up."

"So, Svetlana finally caught up to you, huh?" Roman smirked. "And from what I saw, it seems Red's sister got the better of you."

Melanie couldn't help but snort here, quickly raising her hands upon having both men turn towards her. "Don't look at me: I warned you that Blonde wouldn't go down so easily."

Loki turned towards the sky with a smile. "And you guys were wondering why I even bothered going to Junior's."

Roman blinked. "Who is he talking to?"

Melanie shrugged. "Who knows? I'm _new _to this operation."

Loki sighed. "Listen, Roman; I've still got a few tricks up my sleeves. I can still finish the job, but if I have to deal with Svetlana now, the price goes up."

"Don't push your luck, clown." Roman snapped. "You're in _no position _to make negotiations. Especially since I can see that you have _nothing _to work with."

"Well, we _did _catch her boyfriend." Mercury reasoned. "Maybe we can use him as _leverage?"_

"Fine." Torchwick conceded. "But you _better not _screw it up again. Otherwise, _'Mr. Rojo' _will be the one punishing you. And he's not as _reasonable _as I am. Bull in a china shop, and all that. Neo! We're leaving!"

With that, Neo gave Emerald one last firm smack on the head with her parasol before following her partner out. Loki sat back down in his seat, thinking about their next move when Emerald wearily limped next to him. "How ya doin', slugger?" He asked, smiling.

"A-okay, Mr. L…" She declared before collapsing from exhaustion.

"Well, my friends, it seems old Svetsy has left us _no choice." _Loki decided, pulling out a map of the island and pointing at a certain location. "Using Mikhail, we shall have to lure teams RWBY and JNPR _here."_

Seeing where the trickster was pointing, Melanie couldn't help but frown. "Why there? Local chatter has it that _no one_ goes there anymore."

"How come?" Mercury asked.

As if to answer his question, a pile of rubble shifted behind the group, prompting them to draw their weapons. A raven Faunus stood on his feet, facing the villains with an empty gaze. "I CAN SEE THE FUTURE!"

"Uh… hey, man." Mercury waved, confused.

"OH, NO! THEY CAN SEE ME!" The raven Faunus cried. "NOW, I HAVE TO STOP YOU FROM KIDNAPPING MIKHAIL KASHTONOVVY… IN THE FUTURE!"

"Uh… we already _did _kidnap him." Hazel replied.

"... I KNEW YOU'D SAY THAT!"

"Okay, let's make this quick." Melanie rolled her eyes as she drew her sword. "I _hate _these delusional types." She dashed forward to slice her prey in half, but in the blink of an eye he effortlessly jumped over her and pecked at her neck with his elongated beak.

"NOW _YOU _CAN SEE THE FUTURE!"

"Ow! What the _fuck?!" _Melanie cried before using her weapon to set the raven Faunus ablaze.

"...I'M ON FIRE...IN THE FUTURE!" He cried before crumbling to ashes.

"...you know I'm starting to understand why no one ever goes to Outpost 419 anymore." Loki remarked before turning towards his allies. "Emerald and I will go ahead and scope it out. The rest of you load up Miky boy and follow."

With that, the two criminals in green entered their own car and drove off. Hazel, being the strongest of the remaining trio, easily lifted Mikhail and loaded him into the back of the truck. Mercury hopped in with him to keep an eye on him while Hazel and Melanie climbed into the front seats. The Rushland man had every faith that his wife and her friends would save him, but that didn't mean he couldn't help them. "It was _Mercury, _yes?" He asked. "What is Loki _paying _you for this?"

"What do you _think?" _Mercury replied. _"Money. _And _lots _of it."

"As much as _they're _getting?" Mikhail nodded his head back towards the window, referring to Hazel and Melanie.

Mercury paused. "Uh… I don't _know."_

"Look at what you've had to _put up _with. I think you deserve _more."_

"Hey, _hey!" _Mercury snapped. "I see what you're _doing! _You're just saying stuff to get me to turn on them!"

"_Am _I?" Mikhail did his best to hide his smirk as he saw Mercury's suspicious gaze.

**To Be Continued**


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 43**

**Then**

"You looked like you could've used some help." Mikhail Kashtonovvy remarked as he unloaded the last sack of wheat from his girlfriend's carriage.

"You're right. I think I chipped a _nail _back there."

Svetlana Crimsonoff shared one final kiss with her beloved before heading home for the night. She would have to get up early in the morning to help her father in the fields while her mother went off to work at the construction yard. Rushland was a small, but thriving country, thanks in no small part to their society's union between the peasantry and the working class. The only problem was that Rushland - like other countries - suffered from Grimm attacks and crime. One day, she hoped to become a huntress to better protect her people, but for now, she had work to do.

She had just arrived back at her family's farm when she noticed that the living room's light was still on. This took her by surprise as her parents were usually asleep by this hour. She entered the house through the back entrance and heard a stranger's voice chuckling, softly. What she saw next, shook her to her core.

Her mother's lifeless body lay on the floor, soaked in a puddle of blood. Her father rested his hands on the back of his head, sobbing at the sight of his wife. Standing behind him, with a gun pointed to his head, was a penguin Faunus from the White Fang. And standing in the center of the room was a man dressed in green, smiling.

"Hello, my dear." Loki chuckled. _"You _must be Svetlana. _This one _won't shut up about you."

Suddenly, Svetlana noticed the light coming from behind her. Turning around, she rushed to the window to see her village engulfed in flames. The White Fang were attacking. "I'm _sorry, _my daughter." Her father whispered just before the gunshot.

"You _bastard!" _Svetlana rushed at the murderer, only to take a bullet to the stomach from his boss. As the pain coursed through her body, she could only look up at the psychopath. "W-why… are you… doing this…?"

"To prove a _point." _Loki poured himself a glass of vodka before using the rest bottle to create a molotov cocktail. "Here's to _crime." _He toasted before throwing the bottle against the wall.

After the maniacal trickster and his associate left the farmhouse, Svetlana turned to face her deceased parents. Fueled by righteous fury and her own indomitable will, she grabbed her father's sickle and used it to carve out the bullet. After that, she crawled towards her mother's hammer and held it over the nearby flames. Biting down on her sickle's wooden handle, she used the heated hammer to cauterize the wound. With her injury tended to, the Crimsonoff girl made her way out of the house with both hammer and sickle in her hands.

The fires had consumed every crop and building in Rushland, destroying the only home Svetlana ever knew. "I'm sorry, mama… papa… Mikhail..." She cried. "I couldn't _save _you… but I _can _bring your murderer to justice." With that, Svetlana clenched her fists around her newfound weapons and silently made her way out into the night.

**Now**

"I'll find you," Svetlana growled out under her breath as she continuously punched at a bag that she had taped a picture of Loki to. "You won't escape me _this_ time."

Sun, still in recovery after the encounter with Loki, couldn't help but look towards the team leaders of the group with a hint of concern. "So you guys are more familiar with each other, right? Have you ever seen her this serious before?"

"I don't think I've ever seen _anyone_ this serious before." Yang nervously replied.

Jaune hummed in agreement. "What were those two phrases Ren would always point out? Oh, right: 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,' and 'There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.' Or in this case, a gentle _girl."_

Mata could only nod in response. "Yeah, I'd say those two phrases fit this situation quite well."

At last, the group arrived at a gas station just off the outskirts of a neighboring village. "You're sure that Mikhail would be held here?" Saber couldn't help but ask as they arrived.

Svetlana sighed. "Honestly? No...or at the very least I don't think he's here anymore, but I'm hoping we'll get lucky and we'll find some clues."

"Oh, why did you say that?" Ruby groaned out. "Everytime someone says that, something bad happens."

"Is someone there?" they suddenly heard Mercury call out from deeper in the facility.

"Great, now we've got _him_ to deal with," Yang growled out.

Ruby simply nodded in agreement. "Like I said, you shouldn't have tempted fate, Svetlana."

The Rushland native had the decency to give a sheepish blush. "Sorry: anyways, what's the plan now?"

Jaune, meanwhile, just hummed in thought. "I actually think I have a way to deal with him."

A few moments later, the mercenary came out from behind a corner, only to blink at what he saw: there, standing for the world to see, was a group of snowmen. Needless to say, Mercury was amused by this latest development. "Huh…" he chuckled. "Looks like even crazy raven Faunus like making snowmen. Wonder how far I can launch it's _head _with my _foot-" _The mercenary was cut off when Yang's arm burst from the snowman and stabbed him with Dragon Fang. "Oh… _shit…"_

Once Mercury collapsed, the group brushed off the snow. "Gotta admit, Jaune; that was some pretty quick thinking." Yang commented. "How'd you think to do that?"

"Ah, it was _nothing." _Jaune shrugged. "I did it all the time as a kid when I wanted to hide from my sisters during summer break."

Ruby cocked a curious eyebrow. "You constructed and _hid inside _a _snowman _in the middle of a forest during the summer?"

_Jaune thought back to the days of his youth. Saphron stood above her younger brother as he sat in a puddle of melted snow. "Hey, girls! I found him!" She called, gleefully._

"Admittedly, it wasn't always a _perfect _plan."

Meanwhile, Svetlana noticed that Mercury wasn't quite dead yet. Acting quickly, she poured a vile of fire dust over his wound, causing him to howl in agony. The Rushland woman planted her foot on his chest. "Where's _Loki?! Talk!"_

"Gah! You think you can _torture _me?!" Mercury choked. "After everything I've been through?! With my _dad?! _Then _Cinder?! _And now _that freak?! _I ain't scared of _you!"_

"We'll see…" Svetlana walked back to the warthog and placed her hammer over the gas pedal. Her sickle acted as a remote control that would extend the hammer's handle to apply more pressure on the pedal. The vehicle lurched forward until the tire had nearly run over Mercury's head. "Tell me where he is!"

"AAAAAH! You're _crazy!" _He screamed. "Alright! Alright! I'll _talk! _I'll _talk!" _Svetlana let off on the gas, planting her foot back on his chest. "He and the others set up shop in a remote section of the island! They're planning an ambush!"

"What's it _called?!" _She growled.

"Ah! _419! Outpost 419! _That's all I know, I _swear!" _Once again, Mercury felt the pressure of the warthog's tire rolling onto his skull. "Ah! Okay! _Okay!"_

"Remember anything _else?!"_

"Mikhail! He's still alive! Loki said he wanted to wait until you showed up to kill him! So he could _force _you to watch!"

"_Thank _you." Svetlana muttered before knocking her captive unconscious. She climbed back into the driver's seat of the warthog and snapped her fingers. "You coming or what?"

Startled, the other leaders and their lieutenants got into their own warthogs and followed the crimson crusader towards Outpost 419. "Yang? Remember how scary Paulette was?" Ruby whispered, pointing towards Svetlana. "She's _way _scarier."

Yang merely nodded in agreement. "Jaune was right: there's _definitely_ something to be feared about the anger of a normally gentle person."

Two hours later, the group reached Outpost 419, only to find it almost completely deserted. Before she could get upset, Saber noticed Svetlana's scroll vibrating. "Were you expecting a call?"

"No," the Rushland native said with a blink, only to smile upon noticing the caller ID. "Nice to know you're alright, Mikhail."

"Aw, that's so _sweet,"_ Loki's voice called out over the scroll. "It'd be a real shame if some nutjob planned to ruin such a lovely romance."

"What have you done with him, Loki?" Svetlana growled out.

"Relax, he's fine...and so are the other hostages I've taken," the trickster called back. "That said, I'm willing to let them be set free...so long as you show up at the abandoned prison facility just outside of Outpost 419. It's time we ended this rivalry of ours once and for all."

"For once, you and I are in total agreement." Svetlana angerily declared as she hung up.

"So what do we do now?" Pyrrha called out.

"There is no 'we.' Not this time. You guys are staying here." "Rachael" growled out. "I don't need you slowing me down."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ilia called out. "I'm all too familiar with the desire for revenge - broke the teeth of some kids who laughed when news of my parents' deaths in one of the late Jacques Schnee's Dust mines became public - but you go after him _now_ and you'll only be playing into his hands."

"You don't know him the way I do," Svetlana said with a glare. "I need to take care of him _now_ while I still have the chance."

"What about the hostages?" Ruby couldn't help but ask with a frown. "Do their lives not matter?!"

"Of _course_ they do," Svetlana growled out. "But I'll deal with them later: if you were able to remember what's important here, you'd understand…"

"We _do_ remember though," Pyrrha suddenly declared with a stern expression. "Do _you?!"_

Hearing that question, Svetlana paused, before going over to a nearby wall and punching it in frustration. "Loki killed my family. Destroyed my home. Nearly took Mikhail away from me and having done so again… and through it all, I couldn't do _anything_ to stop him. I won't be able to rest as long as that madman is still running free. I'm sure that you all are familiar with the sort of powerlessness something like that creates, given you likely felt something similar in regards to Cinder and the Battle of Beacon. Please, just let me do this."

Ruby could only watch as Svetlana ran off before they could answer, before nodding to the others. "We're following her, right?"

Yang simply shook her head in amusement, a proud smile on her face. "As if you even need to ask."

Meanwhile, once inside, Svetlana activated her semblance to scan for any hostiles. "I can _see _you." She announced to the single opponent hiding from her. Emerald casually sauntered out from her hiding spot with her hands up in surrender. Svetlana sneered. "You're the girl who got Penny killed."

"You're not still _mad _about that, are you?" The green-haired assassin smirked. "Besides, technically, it was 'Miss Invincible' who killed that little _wind-up doll. _All _I _did was make her _scared."_

Suddenly, the room burst into flames around Svetlana. The hallway shifted its appearance to resemble a humble household in Rushland. Emerald suddenly took the form of Loki as he drew a pistol and shot two flaming bodies. The female stumbled towards her. "Mom…?"

"Help us, Svetlana! Don't let us _die!" _She screamed before crumbling to ashes.

The other scorched body grabbed her arm. "Father?"

"You should've _stopped _him, Svetlana! You're no _huntress! _You're just a _disappointment!"_

Svetlana had heard enough. She shrugged off the crumbling ashes and activated her semblance. Fortunately for her, Emerald couldn't move while using her semblance, and better still, Emerald had no idea that her own semblance could block out the hallucinations. Needless to say, the green-haired villain was terrified as her victim marched towards her.

Svetlana gripped Emerald by the throat, threw her to the ground, and planted her foot against her back while twisting her arm. "Where. Is. Loki?"

"H-he's down _that _way!" Emerald stammered, fearfully. "I-I swear!"

"If I find out you're _lying _I'll break the _other _one." Svetlana threatened.

"The other _wha-AAAAAAAAAAH!"_ Emerald screamed in agony as her attacker broke her left arm. After Emerald had passed out from the pain, Svetlana closed her eyes and took a deep breath to clear her mind. She had relived that nightmare countless times in the past, but luckily, she remembered to focus on another memory.

_A young Svetlana had been rescued by a squad of Guardsmen when they spotted the fires on their way back from another mission. One of them - a puma Faunus - removed his helmet and sat next to her throughout the entire trip. "Are you hungry, miss? We have a few ration bars to spare."_

"_Why did he do it, mister? Why…?"_

_The Guardsman let out a sigh. "I don't know. It's just this _world; _there's too much ugliness in it. Don't worry, we're gonna take good care of you, young lady. I have a few friends back where we're headed who'll be _happy _to meet you. And please, call me Tukson."_

Svetlana finally opened her eyes and proceeded down the hallway towards her nemesis.

"Emmy's Semblance! Ask your doctor if it's right for _you!_" Loki's mocking voice echoed from the intercom as Svetlana made her way down the halls. "Warning;exposuretoEmmy'ssemblancemaycauseseverepsychologicaltraumaincludingvisionsofdeceasedparentsandburingfarms. HA HA HA HA HA HA! I-I'm _sorry! _I just couldn't _resist! _I just _had _to tell Emmy about our little history together! But, y'know, I _have _to ask; what is it you're _really _scared of? Failing to _avenge _your parents? _Not _saving your doting husband in time? _Me… _in a _thong?! _WAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Great: now I'll _never_ get that image out of my head!" one Sun Wukong called out.

Svetlana could only blink upon hearing that. "What are _you_ doing here?!"

Yang just smiled back at the Rushland native as she and a few of their friends approached their fellow teammate. "This guy might be your archenemy, but if you think you're the _only_ one who wants a little payback, then you've got another thing coming."

Svetlana merely nodded in response, knowing that she was referring to the clown's earlier assault on their group and that there was no time to argue. "We'll need to split up here: if Loki figures out I'm not here by myself, then we're _all_ in trouble."

Saber nodded in agreement. "Normally, I'd advise against splitting up, but seeing how you know this guy better than anyone, I won't argue."

"Oh, and guys?" Svetlana called out, before giving them all a small but genuine smile of gratitude. "Thanks for coming."

Yang snorted in reply. "As if you could keep us away from a good fight." The Rushland native could only shake her head in amusement before running off.

Sometime later, Svetlana burst into the main office where the intercom was set up. "It's over Loki." she called out as she turned a chair around...only to discover that it was a dummy stuffed to the brim with explosives with the countdown already in its final seconds. "Ah, son of a bi..." The resulting blast sent her through the nearby window. Fortunately, Svetlana's huntress training helped her slow her fall to a safe landing speed. Unfortunately, she soon found herself surrounded by multiple thugs in the courtyard below; the hostages proving to be decoys.

"Welcome to the _madhouse, _Svetlana!" Loki's voice chortled out over the loudspeaker via a recording. "I set a _trap, _and _you _sprang it _gloriously! _Now let's get this party started."

"Nothing personal, kid," one of the thugs declared as they all surrounded the Rushland native. "It's just business."

"You don't seem to understand, do you?" "Rachael" said with a mocking grin. "Then again, Loki never _was_ too bright, so let me spell something out for you: _I'm_ not locked in here with _you. You're_ locked in here with _me!"_

Meanwhile, inside the facility, Mikhail was being guarded by Melanie Malachite to ensure that he stayed put. After the others had left, he had begun to speak to her.

"And then what happened?" Mikhail asked his captor.

"Nothing too complicated." Melanie said with a shrug. "The academies weren't willing to see the daughters of renowned crime boss 'Little Miss Malachite' become huntresses. Wait, I take that back: _some_ of the staff members, like that Ozpin guy, thought there was a chance we could do some good, but the Council over-ruled their decision. My sister and I ended up getting the last laugh, though: that blonde brawler you're wife's pals with is the only 'huntress' who's ever been able to take us out single-handedly."

Mikhail couldn't help but let out an impressed whistle. "Seems you know what you're doing."

"I know what _you're_ doing too, Mikhail," Melanie declared with a deadpan glare. "You're trying to butter me up so that it'll be easier to turn me against Loki and the others. Well, let me just say right now...that that won't be necessary. Just tell me what you want me to do."

Mikhail had to hold back a wince. "I don't know what you're talking about. I…" He cut himself off when he realized what Melanie had said. "Excuse me, what?"

"You didn't think that you and Svetlana were the _only_ ones to want revenge on that clown, did you?" Melanie remarked with an angry frown. "He hurt my sister: I won't take that lying down."

Mikhail blinked in response, before giving a grin. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, it would seem."

At the same time, Hazel was doing his best to hold off everyone else with his muscle-enhancing dust adding to his already incredible strength. "I have broken _many _of Ozpin's followers in the past." He warned. "However, I have no desire to harm children. If I were you, I'd _give up."_

"Sorry. I never was much for _giving up." _Yang sneered.

"Then you're a _dead woman." _Despite his size, Hazel proved to be very swift. His first move was to take out the lieutenants, swatting them aside like flies. Next, he targeted Jaune and Pyrrha. The duo tried blocking his advancement with both of their shields, but he easily knocked both of them aside. He punched Jaune in the groin, sending him flying through the air until he landed on the ground in pain.

"What is everyone's problem with my _balls?!" _He whimpered.

Pyrrha tried to stab Hazel in the chest, but it didn't even faze him. He grabbed her by her ponytail and hoisted her into the air. The huntsman-hater laughed as he tossed her around like a child with a toy before she landed beside her secret admiration.

"I'm _scared, _Jaune…" Pyrrha admitted. "I'm _always _scared."

Jaune quietly held her hand and brushed her cheek "It's okay. That doesn't make you _weak." _He told her, softly. "It just makes you _human."_

Before Hazel had a chance to finish the couple off, Ruby speed-tackled him from behind, reaching for the ammunition rounds in his belt. The villain grabbed the hooded huntress by her head, ready to crush her, only to let her go as Yang stabbed his bicep with Dragon Fang. Unfortunately, he shrugged the injury off and quickly went about pinning her to the ground and bashing her face in. "Admit defeat! Beg for your life! _Scream my name!"_

"... never…" Yang breathed.

"You are _beaten!" _Hazel lifted Yang over his head, preparing to snap her spine over his knee. "Now, I will _break _you!" That was when Ruby stabbed the huntsman-hater with three dust crystals at once. "What?! No! The dust!" Hazel cried out in pain as he dropped Yang in an attempt to remove the dust crystals. "It's too much! _TOO MUCH! AAAAAAAAAAAH!" _Hazel's muscles began expanding in a grotesque fashion, as if they would tear free from his skin at any second.

Horrified, Ruby rushed towards him in an attempt to undo the damage. This proved to be no easy feat, as Hazel hysterically flailed his limbs in pain. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I AM INVINCIBLE! I! AM! HAZEL RAINHART!" At last, Ruby freed the amplifying dust from his flesh, reverting him to his original size. Exhausted, he collapsed on the ground and slipped into unconsciousness. Ruby limped over to her friends, checking to make sure they were okay.

"That's my girl…" Yang smiled, tiredly.

Meanwhile, Svetlana was making her way deeper into the abandoned prison when she came across an old theater. "What's wrong, Svetsy?" Loki called out from the projection room. "No witty comeback? No threat? Then _I'll_ provide the narration."

Suddenly, the projector turned on, showcasing Loki's travels throughout Remnant, as he went to other small farms and repeated what he had done to her home. At last, the video showed Rushland's fate. All the way up to when the penguin Faunus shot and killed her mother. "Despite popular belief, that bird-brain had _zero chill. Ha ha!"_

"Why do you _insist _on doing this?" Svetlana asked, clutching her fists as her eyes watered. "Why _me?"_

"Because you can lie to yourself and everyone else, but you can't lie to _me, _Svetsy." Loki mocked. "You'd have followed me here even if I _hadn't _kidnapped your loverboy! You just can't _resist _the chance to get at me for what I did to you! It _consumes _you! Makes you _crazy! _Beneath all the bravado and _self-righteousness, _you're still just a _scared, sad _little girl _crying _for mommy and daddy! It'd be _funny _if it weren't so _pathetic… _Oh, what the hell? I'll laugh, anyway. WAH-HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

In response to his taunting, Svetlana launched her hammer at the trickster. He stumbled backwards from the impact and soon found himself pinned to the wall with a sickle to his throat, the Rushland native having burst into the room soon afterwards. "If you don't like the _movie… _I've got _slides." _He smiled.

Enraged, the crimson crusader threw her nemesis across the room. Loki began laughing louder as he drew a pistol and fired at his attacker, with each shot draining her aura. Once he ran out of ammunition, he threw the weapon at her head, knocking her backwards. He lunged forwards, and the two thrashed around on the ground, punching and clawing at one another. At last, Svetlana kicked him off of her into an electrical panel, draining his aura. But as she rose back to her feet and regained her weapons, so too did the maniacal trickster.

"I can _take _it!" Loki coughed. "I can take anything you throw at me, Svets! You can't beat _me! _I'm actually going to _win! _Ready for the next round?!"

"Always."

"_WHAT?!"_

"I'll _never _let you win… _NEVER!"_ Svetlana grit her teeth and charged at her nemesis. She slid on her knees as he swung his bat at her, and struck her hammer upwards, hitting him in the jaw. She holstered her weapons and picked Loki up by the neck. "I am _justice. _I am the _darkness! _I am _Svetlana Crimsonoff!"_

With that, she tossed him into a wall and combined her weapons to form her shotgun. But Loki had one last trick up his sleeve - literally - as his pistol slid into his palm and he quickly aimed at her head. Fortunately, however, a blast of fire dust knocked it away.

"What!?" Loki gasped out as he spotted Mikhail. "How did you escape?!"

"I could've escaped at any time," Mikhail revealed, "but I thought I'd stick around and keep an eye on you guys."

"Not to mention he had a little help." Melanie mockingly declared as she stepped up beside him.

"You're with _them_ now!?" Loki yelled out.

"Funny thing about mercenaries," Mikhail said with a smirk. "Their loyalty is _bought,_ not _earned."_

"And besides, a chance to ruin the plans of the man who hurt my sister? I'd take _that_ sort of opportunity for _free."_ Melanie remarked.

Loki screamed in fury and tackled the duo to the ground, strangling them both. But Svetlana acted quickly, blasting her nemesis off of them, draining the last of his aura. Melanie had been unfortunate enough to succumb to the trickster's attack when her head hit the ground too hard, but Svetlana sighed in relief when her husband sat up.

"You looked like you could've used some help." She smirked, helping her beloved back up to his feet.

"You're right." Mikhail teased. "I think I chipped a _nail _back there."

"Funny," Svetana snarked back with a roll of her eyes. "Are you ready for this?"

"Always," her husband declared.

The Rushland couple made their way over to Loki just as their friends caught up to them. Mikhail planted his foot on the madman's chest to hold him in place while Svetlana aimed her weapon.

"Go on then: DO IT!" Loki joyfully called out as Svetlana pulled the trigger of her weapon...only to blink when the bullet landed in the dirt next to his head rather than going through his skull. "Wha...what?"

"You almost had me there," Svetlana admitted. "I never fully understood what you meant back when you burned down my village when you said that you wanted to prove a point, but thanks to Ruby and the others, I finally got it: you wanted to take someone who could overpower your Semblance and corrupt them until they were as cold and twisted as you were. Do I want to see you dead? Absolutely...but you know what I think a _better_ punishment for you might be? For you to spend the rest of your life in a cell knowing that I managed to beat you without stooping to your level. That you're alone in your desire to see absolute chaos."

Loki just growled back in defiance. "You think this changes anything, Svetsy? I'll be back to finish what I've started, and there'll be nothing that you can do to stop me. NO ONE CAN STOP…!" ...and that was as far as he got before he was knocked out by a well-placed grenade.

"Geez, does that guy _ever_ shut up?" one Nora Valkyrie whined as she and a few _very_ familiar faces came out from over the bend, before blinking in shock upon noticing the group. Needless to say, _everyone_ was shocked to see who it was standing in front of them.

"Nora? Ren?"

"Jaune? Pyrrha?"

"Blake? Mom?"

"Yang? Ruby?"

"Weiss? Uncle Qrow?"

"What're _you _guys doing here?" Ren asked.

"And how'd you run into Saber, Sun, Mata, and Ilia?" Blake couldn't help but wonder.

"It's a long story, but as to what we're doing here, we're here to _rescue _you guys!" Jaune exclaimed.

"But… we're supposed to be heading out to rescue _you…" _Nora scratched her head in confusion.

**To Be Continued**


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 45**

**Then**

Qrow Branwen was never a strong believer in the idea of karma, but after spending the last few days locked up with his nieces' friends without a single drop of alcohol to cope, he was beginning to think this was his punishment for trying to kill them.

"Bastards! All of them! Bastards!" Raven ranted as she struggled to break the bars of her cell. "The Faunus who knocked us out?! Bastards! The Faunus who locked us in here?! Bastards! The Faunus who took our weapons?! Bastards! And the Faunus who put us in these ridiculous chains even though we're in a cell?! You better believe that they are _world-class, all-around bastards!"_ She glared at their guard. "And _you?_ You know what you are?"

"Oh, oh, oh! Pick me! I know!" Yatsuhashi waved from the cell across from the chieftess.

Raven rolled her eyes. "It was a rhetorical question, Yats."

"But I was gonna say 'bastard!'"

"Relax, Yats!" Velvet replied. "We'll get out of here. And when we do, we'll get _even _with those guys!"

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, Velvet. My leg is still a bit hurt from when they captured us."

"Not to worry, Yats!" Coco declared, reassuringly. "I'll just carry you on my back while we're beating them off!"

Yatsuhashi sighed. "Don't be _foolish_, Coco. I love you, but you're not _strong enough_ to carry me while fighting."

The fashionista huffed and rested her hands on her hips. "Well, if I can't tear through some Faunus ass while carrying your load, then what the hell have I been training for my whole life?!"

"I have an idea…" Qrow groaned, tiredly. "Why don't we all play... the _quiet game?"_

Fox gasped, excitedly. "Oh! It! Is! _On!"_

"Qrow, this is not the time for _games!" _Nora shouted as she strained against her own chains, only to gain a playful smile. "Hey, Ren? When we get out of this, you wanna try this in bed?"

"Nora, I love you, but please don't go all 'Team CFVY' on me, right now." Ren facepalmed.

"Will you all please _shut up?! _I'm trying to _focus!" _Blake snapped as she tried picking the locks to her shackles.

"I didn't know you carry hairpins." Weiss remarked. "As far as I know, you never _do _anything with your hair."

"Well, sometimes Yang loses the key to our handcuffs." Blake explained.

"And I now regret ever asking anything."

Qrow was on the verge of killing them all. "I would like very much to play the quiet game."

Suddenly, the cell bars retracted into the ceiling as a lion Faunus and two guards entered the room. "Well, well, _well." _He declared. "Qrow Branwen; Agent Gray of Project Guardsman. Raven Branwen; chieftess of the Branwen Tribe. Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna of Team RWBY. Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie of Team JNPR. And the _entire _Team CFVY. My name is General Leonardo Lionheart of the Federal Army of Menagerie. And now that we've been introduced,all I can say is… I am _so sorry!"_

"Uh, what?" Weiss blinked in surprise.

"Guards! _Remove _these shackles, _at once!" _Lionheart ordered, sternly.

"Uh, yes sir!" A goat Faunus bleated, nervously, as he removed their shackles.

"Now, friends." Lionheart smiled. "Let us _start over, _shall we?"

"Start over?!" Weiss spluttered, raising a fist. "If you think we're not-!"

"O-oh, _dear…" _Lionheart weakly muttered as he collapsed, backwards. The general had fainted, much to the confusion of his captors.

"... what a _weeny." _Yatsuhashi remarked.

"Oh, no! He _fainted _again!" A bubbly, feminine voice called from down the hall. A young woman with dark red hair and olive eyes rushed into the detention center with a medical kit. She opened the kit up and waved a smelling salt under her general's nose. At last, the general regained consciousness.

The doctor cheerfully finished tending to her general. "Okay, take it _easy _now. You're no use to me if you're _dead! _But I guess I could be the one to perform the _autopsy!_ AH HA HA HA HA!"

Lionheart tugged at his shirt collar, nervously. "Aheh, _thank you_, Octavia." Once the good doctor left, the general turned back to Qrow. "Gentlemen, ladies, I'm afraid I have _nothing _but apologies for you. It must be all the _thin air_ up here, and I have been working _tirelessly..."_

"Lionheart, right?" Qrow interrupted.

The lion Faunus could only blink. "Oh... um, yes. General Leonardo Lionheart of the Federal Army of Menagerie, at your service."

"_Our_ service?" Raven asked, confused.

Coco smiled. _"Full_ service?"

"Alright General, let me give it to you _straight." _Qrow continued, sternly. "My nieces, their friends and I were trapped in a canyon after being shipwrecked for months, when a squad of soldiers wearing _your_ armor comes in and attacks us with two of your guys - a son of a bitch named _Torchwick _and that creepy chick working with him - issuing them commands. Then _another guy_ named Toro tells us that _your_ people have been terrorizing the people of this island, and that _we_ are wanted for crashing on this island in the first place! So now, I have two nieces who are missing with _no idea_ if they're safe or not, my _sister _constantly blaming me for putting us all in danger, their friends who share the same sentiment, and to top it all off, I haven't had a goddamn drink in _months! _So if you could _please_ tell me something that could keep me from wanting to _kill_ you, I'd _greatly_ appreciate it!"

The room radiated with a deafening silence. Even Raven was put off by her twin's outburst. "Um... yeah! Start talking!"

Lionheart let out a long, tired sigh. "Yes, I see. _None _of this happened the way that it should have. Tell me, how much _do_ you know about the 'New Republic?'"

"They don't try to _kill_ us for one thing!" Raven remarked.

Lionheart nodded. "A _noteworthy _quality, yes. What else?"

"They're rebels, trying to overthrow a corrupt government." Qrow added.

"My _parents _are leading them." Blake continued. "They heard our distress signal and sent Toro to _rescue _us!"

"_Uh-huh..._ and to be _clear_, you heard _all_ of this from a _mercenary?" _Lionheart asked, stroking his chin in thought. "Hired to assist them at _all costs?" _The general paused as everyone shared an unsure glance with each other, none of them able to come up with an argument. "A bit of a biased source, don't you think?"

Ren clenched his fists at the thought of his friends being in danger because of the bull Faunus. "I _knew_ there was something about Toro I didn't like."

"Then your intuition is praiseworthy, my good boy." Lionheart continued. "I'm afraid you've all been fed _lies_. These rebels aren't looking to _free_ the island, their goal is to _dominate_ it! If they were so dissatisfied with the way our established government handled everything, they were given _ample_ opportunities to simply move to form their own society somewhere _else_ on Menagerie. It _is_ a large island, I can assure you. But _no_. They are determined to 'take back what is theirs.' I will admit, our government has never been _perfect_. Times were _hard_, mistakes were _made_, but as an island that is virtually cut off from the rest of the world, we did our _best_ to govern the people! But it wasn't good enough for them. Suddenly, farms were being burned to the _ground!_ There were _riots_ in the _streets!_ Complete and utter _panic_ everywhere! These were not acts of _freedom_, these were acts of _terrorism!_ And we simply could not risk huntsmen and huntresses of _your caliber_ allying with them."

"So you sent your men to kill us?" Qrow asked.

Lionheart seemed offended. "Absolutely _not!"_

"I've got a few _cracked ribs_ that beg to differ!" Raven growled.

"And a torn turtleneck that strongly disagrees!" Coco added; angrily waving around her tattered clothing.

"And again_,_ I _must _apologize. The method in which this was handled was not at all what I wanted. Upon hearing rumors of your arrival at Menagerie I ordered Torchwick and his assistant to confirm these rumors, and bring you to us as soon as possible…" Lionheart bit his lip out of embarrassment as his eyes wandered. "Unfortunately, it appears I should have been a _bit _more specific in the _method _of your acquisition."

Qrow let out an indignant scoff. "So what? This was all your _mercenary's _fault? You expect us to believe that the _general of an army_ can't control his own men?"

Lionheart held up his hands, defensively. "You're mistaken in assuming I have _any _control over Torchwick whatsoever. _Or _his assistant for that matter. They are a pair of mad dogs who have long since _broken_ from their leashes. But we _do _need them. As I'm sure you've all observed, I'm no _battle-worn soldier _or even a _huntsman_ ripe with military expertise. On the contrary, I was simply _next in line_ to run the military should anything happen to its leader."

Qrow cocked a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean? _Lieutenant _General?"

"_Major_ General?" Raven guessed.

"_Second-in-command_ General?" Nora suggested.

Ren leaned over to her ear. "That's not a real thing."

"Actually, I was _headmaster _of _Haven Academy." _Lionheart admitted.

"WHAT?!"

"Where'd all the _other _guys go?!" Raven spluttered.

"Well, some left before the situation got any worse, but um, most of them were definitely killed. Not many of us left these days, I'm afraid."

"But you're supposed to be some _oppressive dictator!" _Blake stammered. "My parents are the _good guys _who are trying to take down your evil regime! You're not supposed to be some _bumbling coward _who can barely manage things!"

Lionheart smiled, trying not to sound like he was boasting. "Well, admittedly, we _are_ doing a bit better than before. We have acquired top notch military equipment thanks to Torchwick, and he even helped us strategize some of our more recent victories. Mmm, though I would not consider your rescue one of them."

"I also wouldn't consider it a rescue." Qrow spat.

"Well, I can _assure_ you that he was severely punished for his drastic measures against you." Lionheart promised. "I made sure he wasn't paid a _single_ lien for the job!"

"How comforting." Raven rolled her eyes.

Lionheart sighed. "My friends, I am aware that I may _never _gain your trust, but I promise we are _not_ your enemy. The New Republic has captured your friends and are most likely recruiting them into their rebellion as we speak. Now, I can inform my troops not to attack them, but I _cannot _prevent them from defending themselves. I also cannot promise a safe escape from Menagerie in the middle of this conflict. Most of our ships and boats are shot down before they can reach one hundred meters from the island."

"So what _can_ you promise us?" Qrow demanded.

"If you can help us defeat these terrorists, it would not only save our island, it would save your comrades. Then, when the skies are clear, you can leave this forsaken island once and for all!" Lionheart offered. "So, what do you say?"

Qrow grabbed his sister and took her to the side to discuss their options. "What do you think?"

"Hmm, I don't like it." Raven admitted with a frown. "Something about this whole situation feels wrong. But I'm not really seeing another way out. Ruby and Yang are still out there somewhere, and I don't want to fuck up my progress with Yang by leaving them to die. So I guess I'd say we should go for it."

"Hmm…" At last, Qrow approached their host once again. "I still have one question for you, general."

"Which is?"

"Where is our French girl and robot?"

Thirty minutes later, the group found Ciel tinkering with her weapon in the Federation's workshop. Ciel couldn't help the groan that escaped her lips. "Oh mon Dieu. Encore pas idiots. (Oh, god. Not you idiots, again.)"

Nora smiled. "Good to see you, too!"

"Welp, that's all your weapons. You're good to go." one of the Federation soldiers happily declared.

"Not so fast. What about Freckles?" Qrow declared with a frown.

The soldier couldn't help but blink. "Freckles?"

Torchwick merely chuckled in response as he approached the group. "Ah, don't sweat it, kid. Agent Gray is referring to the Paladin-290 combat robot."

"_You."_ And that was all the warning "Agent Gray" gave the "Gentleman Thief" before he and all of his companions pointed their weapons in Torchwick's direction.

"Oh-ho ho ho, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Roman smugly declared, wagging his finger as Neo dropped her Semblance, revealing that she had a sword under Qrow's chin.

Qrow could only sigh at this new development. "Stand down, everyone: I don't like it any more then you do, but Leo was right about one thing: if Torchwick wanted us dead, he'd have done it by now."

Torchwick couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow in response even as everyone reluctantly lowered their weapons. "Must you be so harsh about it? I thought General Lionheart explained everything to you? We're on _your_ side."

"I doubt that." Qrow bluntly declared. "And I still haven't gotten an answer to my question."

"Alright, alright. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid you won't find your shiny little toy among this wreckage. The Paladin malfunctioned after you were knocked out. It refused to surrender, so me and my boys put it down." Roman declared, adding in a mock sigh for good measure.

"He's _dead?!"_ A distraught Yatsuhasi called out.

"Oh, grow up." Torchwick declared. "It was a _machine._ It was never _alive_ to begin with."

"Douche."

Torchwick rolled his eyes at Ciel's remark. "Honestly, you should all be _grateful._ My partner and I managed to get you all here in one piece. Sure, that little Red and three others are still stuck with the Rebellion, but I'd say it's a pretty good deal."

"We don't _owe_ you anything." Qrow growled out. "Just stay away from my friends."

"You still don't understand…" Roman called out, before gaining a grin. "...or maybe you _do."_

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" the former Guardsman couldn't help but ask.

"It means that I know all about your past, 'Agent Gray.'" Roman bluntly declared. "You've screwed over your 'friends' _how_ many times now?"

Despite their rocky history, Raven couldn't help but let out a growl upon seeing her brother look down in shame. "Shut up, you bastard."

"Aw, what's the matter?" Roman teased back. "Touched a raw nerve?"

"Excuse me?" Both Torchwick and Neo turned to see the doctor from earlier giving the two of them a menacing glare. "If someone tells you to leave them alone... you _leave_ them _alone."_

Torchwick merely sighed as Neo put her sword away. "Of course, doctor. Here."

Qrow blinked at the item Roman had given him "What's this?"

Torchwick shrugged in response. "Before the robot was scrapped, I had the tech boys remove the main memory circuit. Its _heart and mind _so to speak."

Qrow frowned even as he pocketed the circuit board. "Is this supposed to be an apology?"

Torchwick couldn't help but give a mocking smirk. "I don't know: is it?"

"These guys aren't making any sense." Yatsuhashi quietly directed at Ciel.

Ciel merely scoffed. "C'est parce qu'ils sont tous les deux fous. (That's because they're both insane.)"

"No, we are _not!"_

Ciel jumped into Yatsuhashi's arms in response to Roman's outburst "MERDE! Il est bilingue! S'il vous plaît, ne me tuez pas! (HOLY SHIT! He's bilingual! Please, don't kill me!)"

Torchwick merely sighed before walking away. "You people give meaning to meaningless objects, _and_ meaningless people. Then, risk your _lives_ to protect them. Where's the sense in _that?"_

Once the mercenaries were gone, the doctor gleefully skipped towards the group. "Sorry, about that! Tensions are pretty _high _around here. My name is Dr. Octavia Ember!"

"Your voice sounds… _familiar." _Weiss commented. "You took care of us when we were brought here, right?"

"Oh, yeah!" Octavia beamed. "Let me tell you, _that _was a breath of fresh air! Unconscious patients tend to be less _whiny _than my usual kind. 'My _leg hurts! _I need _blood! _But I don't _want _a robot arm!' Hee-hee!"

"Are… are you a _civilian, _young lady?" Raven asked. "Why are you working for the Federation?"

"'Civilian?' Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Oh, you're so _silly!" _Octavia laughed in an unsettling manner. "This war affects _everyone _on Menagerie! The only people on this island who aren't wearing armor are _dead! _Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Before the uncomfortable huntsmen and huntresses could respond, a snake Faunus approached the group. "Um, sir? General Lionheart wanted me to tell you that we've tracked your friends to Outpost 419. And it looks like they're in _trouble."_

**Now**

"...and that's pretty much it." Raven declared as she wrapped up the explanation of what had been happening on their end of things.

"So wait: the Federation are the good guys!?" Jaune gasped. "And the people of Menagerie have been attacking them without provocation?!"

"That's impossible!" Ilia growled out. "Ghira Belladonna would _never_ have approved of such a dishonorable tactic! It's the very reason he stepped down as leader of the White Fang in the first place: he got tired of leading a group where the majority of its members were calling out for violence, saying that such a tactic would've made us the very monsters humans saw us as. It was that sense of honor that convinced me to fight alongside him for the sake of Menagerie even if I disagreed with his belief that we could solve our problems without violence."

"My fellow Faunus is right," Velvet said with a nod. "What Professor Lionheart was suggesting Ghira has been up to seems _completely_ out of character from what I've read about the White Fang's original leader."

"Well according to our intel, Barmak _is_ on the island with us, and Jasmine _did_ say that Doppelgangers have limited shapeshifting abilities," Weiss called out. "Perhaps Ghira was just defending himself against some rogue sentient Grimm who _looked_ like Federation forces and things just escalated from there."

"And we _did_ just finish dealing with someone who seems to love causing chaos for everyone he comes across." Pyrrha remarked, nodding to an unconscious Loki who had been chained up in a corner. "Maybe _that_ could explain why some of Ghira's men have been targeting the Federation without provocation."

"I'm not so sure it's that simple," Mikhail declared as he and his wife looked over the knocked out Melenie. "From what I've gathered, Loki and his allies, willing or otherwise, have been on the island for less than a week, whereas Ghira and Leonardo both claim to have been dealing with this crisis for a few months now."

"He's right," Ruby said with a nod. "I could maybe buy Roman helping Professor Lionheart and the Federation - he'd do just about anything for a quick lien - but even then, we know from our experiences with Barmak that the Dopplegangers can't keep their disguises up indefinitely, and with Loki only being a recent addition in this little war, there would need to have been someone else feeding Ghira and his forces false information in order to keep the attacks going."

Mata just groaned in response. "None of this is making any sense."

"Yeah, I hear you." Coco admitted. "All I know for certain is that everything went to hell just before that red bull arrived to 'save' us."

"Wait, 'red bull'?" Blake asked before suddenly paling. "Oh no: why didn't I see it sooner?"

Yang blinked in response. "Blake?"

Her wife ignored her as she pulled out a scroll and dialed a number. "Dad, you and Mom need to get out of there, NOW!"

"I'm sorry, Ghira Belladonna can't come to the scroll right now." Toro Rojo's voice called out from the other end of the scroll. "But if you leave your name and number, I'll be sure to let him know that you called."

"_You..."_ Blake growled out.

"Took you long enough to figure it out." the bull Faunus declared with a chuckle, "And your father wasn't much better...though I suppose it saved me the trouble: I've been wanting to do this since I _got_ to this island."

"You'll _never_ get away with this."

"Wrong." The traitorous mercenary smugly declared. _"You'll_ never get away with this. As far as the men who served under Ghira are concerned, you and your little friends have just turned traitor and captured eight of their best men after trying to dispose of your own family."

Blake blinked in response. "'Trying to?' You mean he's not...they're not…?

"Not yet," Toro admitted. "Can't very well get rid of my bargaining chip in case this all goes south, now can I? Don't worry: I'll take better care of them then you _ever_ did your fellow Faunus. In the meantime, just sit back, relax, and enjoy your stay in the _new_ Menagerie, Miss Belladonna, where _every_ Faunus is prepared to bear their fangs!"

Despite having long since realized that something wasn't right with their so-called savior, Ren couldn't help but frown as Blake angry hung up her scroll. "...what just happened?"

"What happened is that we got played." Blake growled out. "Everything about Toro Rojo was a lie...including his name."

Ilia gasped, having figured it out herself. "You don't mean…?"

"I'm afraid I do, old friend." the cat Faunus reluctantly admitted. "This - _all_ of this - has just been a part of his plan."

"Whose plan?" Fox couldn't help but ask.

Blake just sighed in response. "...within the White Fang, no one was allowed to refer to each other by their own names while out on missions. Instead, we were all given aliases so that, if we were to be captured by those who would see us destroyed, our enemies would be unable to track down our families without a _lot_ of effort on their part. I personally was called 'Nightshade' prior to defecting."

"That's nice and all but what does that have to do with…?" Yang gasped as she too realized what had happened. "Oh, no: not _him."_

Blake merely gave a nod. "I'm actually embarrassed that it took me this long to realize it: 'Toro Rojo' is just the Spanish translation of 'Red Bull', aka Adam Taurus of the White Fang."

"The same Adam Taurus that aided Cinder in the Battle of Beacon?!" Jaune called out in shock and horror. _"That's_ who we've been dealing with!?"

Raven shook her head in frustration. "Yang was wrong before: Barmak wasn't the only loose end that we've yet to deal with. There was another...and he's _just_ taken my daughter-in-law's parents hostage."

Qrow gave a grim nod. "Okay, here's the plan: let's get all of the wounded back to base for medical treatment and get Loki and his little cohorts in a holding cell for the time being. We can always try questioning them later, but right now, the Federation needs to know what's happened."

Ruby sighed. "I wonder how Professor Lionheart will react to this new development."

**Later**

"He _fainted?!"_ the hooded huntress called out.

"Yeah, he does that." Weiss said with a sigh.

"Well, well, _well." _Torchwick grinned, smugly. "If it isn't Little Red and her friends. I heard all about your bad case of the _giggles-" _The mercenary was cut off by a strong right hook from Yang, making him fall flat on his ass. Despite this, he merely chuckled and rubbed the tender flesh. "Heh, never _could _take a joke."

"But I can deliver a _punchline!" _Yang sneered as she went in for another blow.

"Hold it, Goldilocks!" Roman held up his hands, defensively, prompting Yang to halt her attack. "I've got my own _guardian angel _looking over me."

Again, Neo Politan dropped her semblance, revealing her sword aimed just a few inches from Yang's face. Much to her surprise, however, Yang barely even flinched and in fact held Dragon Fang to the mute girl's own throat. "Two can play at _that_ game," the blonde brawler growled out.

"Stand down, both of you." Svetlana declared. "This isn't the time for that."

Roman nodded as both women reluctantly put away their weapons. "Nice to know _one_ of you is capable of being civil."

"Can't say the same for you." Svetlana growled out, her hand reaching for her gun. "Care to explain how Loki got his hands on one of _your_ Paladin suits?!"

Roman scoffed. "You can't prove that…"

"You left your receipt in the cockpit," the Rushland native interrupted the "Gentleman Thief" with a glare even as she held up a charred piece of paper - one that Roman Torchwick's name on it - that she had procured after saving Ruby and company from Loki earlier on before undoing the safety on her gun. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put you in a cell right next to the bastard that nearly killed us."

"Because I happen to know a way to rescue the Menagerie Chief and Chieftess." Roman declared with a glare. "Besides, Emerald and Mercury were side by side with Cinder and Adam in the attack on Beacon while I was off doing my own thing, so if Loki _did_ manage to steal from me, then we _both_ have a reason to hate him."

"Rachael" just growled as she reapplied the safety on her weapon. "If I find out you're lying, you'll learn the hard way why I'm one of the only people that madman fears, get it?"

"Got it."

"Good."

Meanwhile Melanie, having been vouched for by Mikhail and Svetlana, was being treated for the injuries Loki had inflicted upon her, only to frown when someone entered her cell, much to her displeasure when she saw who it was. "Oh, great: it's _you."_

Leonardo Lionheart, having since woken from his fainting spell, couldn't help the wince that escaped him. "I know I'm not your favorite person right now…"

"That's an understatement." Melanie interrupted with a glare. "Of all the people who discussed the possibility of my sister and I trying to become huntresses - make an identity for ourselves outside of being the daughters of a crime boss - you are by far my least favorite. I can't hate Ozpin and the few others who tried to vouch for me, and I understand why everyone else didn't think we were sincere in our declared desire to help people, but you? What _you_ did was even worse. Do you remember how the voting was cast?"

Leo nodded. "I do, actually. All it would've taken was one vote - _my_ vote - and we could've potentially discussed the matter further at a later date if I had decided to give you a chance. Not that it matters: if you recall, I abstained in the vote because while I agreed with some of Ozpin's arguments, I didn't want to deal with the fallout on the off-chance that he might've been wrong."

"And that's why I hate you so much." Melenie growled out. "I knew that your fear and distrust of me outweighed your loyalty to Ozpin, but you were too much of a coward to just come out and say that you didn't want to give me or my sister a chance!"

"I know," the lion Faunus said with a sigh. "Which is why I'm here."

Melenie blinked as Professor Lionheart handed her a document. "What's this?"

"Something I should've given to you and your sister five years ago: a chance." Leo said with a grin which only grew at Melenie's shocked expression. "I've already talked with the committee and they have agreed to send someone to bring Miltia over to the island once she's recovered from her ordeal with Loki."

"What are you saying?" Melenie couldn't help but ask.

"I'm saying that, if you and your sister still wish to become huntresses, we can start your training immediately, with a full pardon for your past crimes thrown in for good measure." Professor Lionheart declared. "All I ask in return is that you help us take down Adam Taurus."

Melenie nodded in in reply. "Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not doing this for you: I just happen to owe a debt to a certain Rushland couple."

Elsewhere in the base, Svetlana and Mikhail sneezed.

One hour later, the groups had been given permission from Lionheart to deliver Torchwick to the Rebellion for questioning. Ruby, unfortunately, had drawn the short straw and was assigned the task of driving with Torchwick and Neo all the way to the Rebellion's stronghold.

"This is gonna be _fun, _don't you think, Little Red?" Roman teased as Ruby drove the Warthog. "Sure, we got off on the _wrong foot, _but I can tell we're going to be the _best team ever! Roman _and _Ruby!" _The hooded huntress glared at the criminal. "Oh, _fine; Ruby _and _Roman. _But you really need to learn it's not all about _you."_

"Torchwick." Ruby said, sternly. "Let's get one thing straight; we're going to _talk _to Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna to find out what started this war. So if we're going to work together, I need your word that you won't _hurt _anyone."

"Hmm, not really my _style… _but what the heck? I'll give it a shot." He grinned, crossing two fingers over his heart and lifting them up. "Scout's honor."

Suddenly, an explosion caused a rockslide to block their path. Ruby stomped on the brakes just in time, as did the others following her. Roman held up both hands. "Okay, that was _not me. _But _this _is."

Ruby grunted as she was roughly shoved out of the vehicle. The hooded huntress looked up to see twenty more mercenaries standing above the cliffs surrounding the group, all with their weapons aimed at them. Roman lit another cigar as he and Neo exitted the warthog. "Sorry, Little Red. But we've worked _too hard _to get where we are now."

"It was _you!" _Blake accused as she leaped out of her own vehicle to face off against her ex-boyfriend. "You started this war!"

"Wrong, Blake." Adam shook his head in denial. "The people of Menagerie have been divided _long before _we got here."

"Not as divided as you think." Blake declared, her face softening if just a little bit. "We _all_ came together because we wanted better lives for the Faunus, for the people of Menagerie, the people of Remnant ...but this? This senseless killing? This isn't the way."

"You don't get to lecture me." Adam growled, his hand reaching for his left eye, before reaching for his sword. "Not after you abandoned me for a human. Not after you aided a _Schnee!"_

"Hey!" Yang yelled out as she and Ilia blindsided the goat Faunus.

"Get away from the woman I love!" the two of them yelled out at the same time.

"Wait what?!" Blake yelled out.

Ilia had the decency to blush. "Now isn't the best time, Blake, but I promise to sit down with you and your wife discuss this after we make it out of here alive."

"Too bad that you _won't_ make it out alive." Adam growled out.

"I beg to _differ." _One mercenary retorted before gunning down five others in front of her. She then took out a sword, beheaded another mercenary with a belt of grenades strapped to him, pulled a few pins, and kicked him towards Adam. The traitorous Faunus was blown back by the explosion, prompting the surviving mercenaries to retreat. One mercenary in particular wore a crest that caught the eye of Svetlana. Without a second thought, the crimson crusader chased after her, much to the confusion of her teammates.

"Svetlana! Where are you _going?!" _Yang shouted.

"I'll be in touch! Don't wait up for me!"

Meanwhile, Roman and Neo managed to slip away and head back to the Federation's military base. "Alright, _'Mr. Rojo.'" _The crime lord muttered to himself. "You know what to do, now."

Weiss, on the other hand, recognized their mysterious savior and quickly ran to her for a hug. "Thank you, Winter."

"You just can't stop running into trouble, can you?" one Winter Schnee teasingly asked the group. "I've been silently observing both sides of this conflict for _months. _It wasn't until a few weeks ago I picked up your signal and realized you'd need my help."

Qrow sighed. "So does that mean you came _without _backup?"

"Not _exactly." _Winter smirked as a miniature spirit appeared on her shoulder.

"Salutations, friends!" Penelope saluted. "Did you miss me?"

Ruby squeaked, happily, upon sight of her best friend. Unfortunately, none of her friends felt the same.

"You _fuck!" _Yang shouted as she attempted to tackle Penelope, only to phase right through her and smack her head on a nearby rock.

"Oh, dear…" Penelope sighed.

Meanwhile, Svetlana had finally caught up to the mercenary bearing Rushland's crest. The assailant had taken refuge in an abandoned apartment complex, as evident by the brand-new warthog parked just outside. "Are you _sure _you don't want my help, beloved?" Mikhail asked from her scroll.

"No, stay with the others and explain the situation until I get back. I'm getting close." Svetlana replied. "One last thing before I hang up, Mikhail; are you _certain _your mother died in Rushland?"

"My mother?" Her husband echoed, confused. "Uh… I mean, she was working in the fields when the fires started, so I always assumed that she had. Why?"

"If I'm not back in _two hours, _come and get me." With that, the crimson crusader hung up and stealthily made her way into the dilapidated building. Using her semblance, she traced her prey's footsteps up to a room on the second floor. Keeping a firm hand on her weapons clipped to her belt, Svetlana kicked down the door, startling the mercenary. "Sasha Kashtonovvy."

The woman kept herself shrouded in the darkness, but Svetlana saw her reaching for a gun and rushed towards her. Unfortunately, her assailant was much stronger than she appeared to be and easily gripped both of her pursuer's wrists. "How do you know that name?!" She demanded, shoving her attacker half-way out the window. "Talk! Or I'll-!"

"No…" Svetlana gasped in shock and disbelief. The lamppost from outside provided just enough light to reveal the angered face staring her down as her vision began to slip into darkness. "It can't be… I watched you die… I _saw _you… _Mom?"_

Natalia Crimsonoff blinked at the sound of that word. "Svetlana?" She whispered as her daughter fell unconscious. _"SVETLANA!"_

**To Be Continued**


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 46**

Svetlana woke up with a splitting headache as she inhaled the stale air of the apartment. She tried to sit up, only to feel a fiery pain run up her back. "Easy!" A voice called from the other room. Natalia ran towards her daughter, carrying a bowl of hot soup. She set the bowl aside and gently pushed Svetlana back onto the bed. "I'm sorry. When I pushed you through the window, some of the glass cut into your back. I stitched you up as best I could, but you'll need to _rest."_

Svetlana didn't say anything; she only glared.

"Say something…" Natalia begged, softly. _"Please, _say something…"

"... I watched you _die." _Svetlana's voice cracked.

The older woman looked down in shame. "I know."

The redhead turned away; unwilling to let her mother see her cry. "Do you have _any idea _what that _did _to me?"

"I can see _exactly _what that did to you."

"Everything I dedicated my life to… everything I've _done… _it was all for _you _and my father." Svetlana spat, bitterly. "Being lied to by Ironwood and Tukson was _bad enough. _But now… my whole _life's mission _is based on a _lie."_

"It's not that simple." Natalia sighed. "You wouldn't understand."

"Really? Because I think I understand _perfectly." _Svetlana ignored the pain and sat up from the bed. "You _survived _the gunshot wound. Somehow, you got out of the house after I did. And now, you're working for _Torchwick _so you can kill as many Faunus as you can."

"It's not _like _that!" Natalia denied. "I came here to kill_ Loki…_ because _I'm _the one who created him."

"What? How?"

"It was shortly after you were born." The older woman went on. "Rushland was still in development and Sasha and I were tasked with protecting it from those who would see it ruined. The leader of the White Fang at that time - Dew Mosson - conspired with humans to weed out the weaker countries and settlements so that they could cause more uprisings. Loki was one of those humans. One night, he and that Faunus who shot your father planned to blow up the chemical plant we had just built. Sasha and I managed to stop them, but Loki got spooked and fell into one of the vats. I tried to fish him out as fast as I could, but… well, you've _seen him."_

Svetlana couldn't believe her ears. She had always believed that Loki had randomly targeted her home due to his insane need to corrupt others. But the truth was that the mad trickster had been out for blood. "Do you know who it was that killed dad?" She asked.

"No." Natalia shook her head, resting a hand on her girl's shoulder. "Mosson was my last lead. But I think he could point us in the right direction. Look, Svetlana, _forget _everything else. Let's go find Mosson, _together. _And then, we can bring your father's killer to justice and live the rest of our lives rebuilding Rushland as mother and daughter."

Svetlana scowled and brushed the hand aside before making her way back to her warthog. "I _have _no mother." She declared, bitterly. "My mother _died _a long time ago." With that, the crimson crusader solemnly drove off back to her friends, leaving Natalia to sulk in solitude.

Meanwhile, Ruby was struggling to hug and kiss Penelope, but found herself passing through the spirit's ethereal body. "I missed you _so much, _Penny!" She cried, happily. "But don't worry, I held the team together with my strength of will! I _knew _you'd come back for us, eventually!"

"Bullshit! You were like, _super depressed _and replaced her with a robot!" Yang corrected.

"Wha-?! _No!" _Ruby spluttered. "No, Yang! You're not remembering that, correctly!"

"It's alright, Ruby." Penelope smiled, trying to brush a hand over the girl's cheek. "I missed _you, _as well."

"Hey! Get your ghost hands _off _of her!" Weiss snapped, pulling her girlfriend away from the fragmented Maiden. "You don't get to leave for _months _without a word, only to come back and demand hugs and kisses!"

"But I _want _hugs and kisses!" Ruby whined.

"Weiss, she left with me to hunt down Jacques' weapons." Winter explained to her sister. "It's because of _her _I was able to take down the-"

"And you _left _us! You _both _did!" Weiss continued. _"Winter _I can understand, but _you, _Penny?! Do you have _any idea _how much we've been through without you?!"

"Look, we can discuss this _later." _Qrow decided. "We need to find a place to camp out for the night."

"Don't worry, Qrow." Winter held up her scroll, displaying a holographic image of an abandoned settlement. "There's an onsite laboratory with a motel three klicks to the west. We can stay there until morning."

"Wait, which way's _west?" _Ruby asked, curiously. "And what's a _klick?"_

"Just follow us, Ruby." Blake sighed.

"I'll tell Svetlana where to meet us." Mikhail decided.

Half an hour later, the group arrived at the dilapidated motel and settled in for the night. "Penny! You can share my room!"

"No! She _can't!" _Weiss objected.

"Okay, what is your problem?!" Penelope snapped. "You're being an even _bigger _pain than before! You don't treat _Winter _like this!"

"That's because Winter's my _sister! _You're just a fragmented piece of a magic ghost who left us behind!"

"How was _I _supposed to know your plane would crash?!"

"That's enough!" Winter snapped. "Just go to bed, already!"

"Fine!" Weiss shouted, dragging Ruby into her room.

"Fine!" Penelope agreed, disappearing.

A few minutes later, Svetlana arrived at the location just as the sun finally set. She made her way into the main lobby where Yang was giving Blake a massage with her vibrating arm.

"Hey, Svets." Yang nodded. "Where've _you _been?"

Svetlana set her weapons aside and headed for Mikhail's room without even giving the blonde brawler a sideways glance. "I don't want to talk about it." She replied, choosing to retire for the night. She entered Mikhail's room, shrugged off her heavy coat, and climbed into the bed to hug him from behind.

"Darling?" He whispered, tiredly. "Are you alright?"

"Just… just _be with me, _for a moment, my love." She begged, softly.

Meanwhile, Ruby was about to head off to sleep, herself, when she remembered. "Oh! Uncle Qrow, I almost forgot! Where's Freckles?"

Upon hearing her niece's question, Raven broke out into a cold sweat. "Uh... y'know, I think I'm gonna go help Winter and Penny plan our next move. I'm just dying to - uh, I mean! I mean, uh, it's just killing me that - uh... uh... bye."

Yang rapidly nodded as her mother walked away. "Um, I'm gonna go, too."

"Smooth." Ciel declared with a roll of her eyes. "Though actually I'm going to take off too: make sure Svetlana's okay."

"You do that." Ruby directed at the retreating French girl before turning back to her uncle. "I gotta tell ya, I was really worried about all of you. But it's good to know that we all made it out in one piece!"

Qrow could only give a nervous gulp in reply. "Uh, Ruby... I'm not sure how to say this without breaking your heart and making you hate me."

Ruby blinked. "What? What's wrong?"

"Ruby, when Torchwick and his men captured us, they kept attacking Freckles." Qrow explained before he reluctantly reached into his pocket and held out Freckle's memory unit. "This... this is all that's left of him. I'm sorry."

Ruby gasped. "Freckles? You... you... YOU'RE OKAY!"

Qrow blinked in shock as his niece snatched the memory unit out of his hand. "Wait, what? You're not mad?"

"Mad?! Are you kidding?! You saved the most important piece!" Ruby exclaimed. "Now, I can build him a _better_ body! One where I don't have to worry about him trying to kill any of you guys!"

"I... I guess that's true."

Ruby merely hugged her uncle in reply. "Oh, _thank you,_ Uncle Qrow! Thanks for looking out for Freckles for me! I know he can be a handful. It's good to have you back!"

Qrow simply smiled and pats her on the head. "Good to _be_ back, kiddo."

Meanwhile, Mikhail continued to gently rub his wife's back, desperate to comfort her as her depressed behavior was a far cry from the strong woman he'd come to know. "So, do you want to talk about it?" he couldn't help but ask after a while. "Does this have something to do with the mercenary you were chasing?"

"Yes…" She sighed, at last. "She was… I found my mother." Suddenly, the Rushland woman felt the weight of her husband's arms leave her. She turned around to see him sitting up. "Mikhail?"

"I'm… sorry, Svetlana. I must have _misheard _you." He replied, scratching his head in confusion. "For a moment, it sounded as if you said you'd _found _Natalia."

"You heard right." Svetlana replied, bitterly. "She survived the attack at Rushland and she's been hunting Loki down ever since. It was all a lie. Everything about my past was a lie."

"And why should that matter?" one Ciel Soliel called out from the doorway - having been listening in for a while now - before giving a sigh. "I might not know this 'Natalia', but I know you. After your village disappeared, you could've become as cold and twisted as Loki, but instead you _chose_ to become a huntress. You _chose_ to honor the home you loved...and if there's one thing this whole mess has taught me, it's that it's our _choices_ that define us, not our _past._ So, Svetlana: what do _you_ choose to be?"

Slowly but surely, the Rushland native gave the French girl a bittersweet smile. "Thanks for the pep talk."

"Yeah, well, I remembered how you unloaded on me back at Beacon and didn't need you getting that sappy again anytime soon." Ceil said with a light grin. "Besides, if you recall, I know what it's like to lose a father."

"Still, I won't be going back to _Atlas _or _Beacon _any time soon." Svetlana decided. "Rushland _will _be rebuilt; Mikhail and I have already taken in a dozen refugees as citizens, and more will likely follow. And they'll need _protection."_

"You could start your _own _huntress academy." Ciel suggested.

"No." Svetlana shook her head. "Rushland needs something _more; _something… _worse _than a huntress to protect her. But our mission here is unfinished. Let's get some sleep."

The next morning, Winter, Raven, Qrow, and Penelope woke up to discuss their plan of attack. Weiss continued to glare at the Maiden fragment as the others caught up. "So Yang, what's the plan? When are we going to _ditch _these guys and take the lieutenants?"

"Well actually, Weiss, we talked about it and we figured Penelope deserves some _slack." _Yang shrugged.

"What?! But she _abandoned _us! Left us to rot while she was off playing hero!"

Blake crossed her arms. "I'm pretty sure stopping the illegal trafficking of weapons _your company _created was more important than sitting around on a beach."

"You can't be serious! _None _of you are upset?!"

"Okay, Weiss, I was hoping I wouldn't have to say this…" Ruby adjusted her hood as she strode towards her girlfriend. "But I _will _since I know how much you respect my _opinion."_

"Uh, actually, Ruby, I try to ignore most of what you say." The former heiress replied, plainly. "Like, _all _the time."

"If you keep being mean to _Penny, _then Penny will just keep being mean to _you." _Ruby began. "And then, she'll keep being mean to _Yang, _and _Blake, _and _Uncle Qrow! _And then, everyone will just keep being mean to _each other! _And then _no one _will be happy with _anyone!"_

"Are… are you trying to give a motivational speech?"

"Shh! I wanna see where she's _going _with this!" Coco rubbed her chin in interest.

"I mean, _c'mon! _Is this what you all _want?!" _Ruby continued, addressing everyone. "To just… be _angry _all the time?! Because that's _stupid! _Do you have any idea how _stupid _you're being?!"

"Did Ruby just call _us _'stupid?'" Ren asked no one in particular.

"Well _that's _calling the cape red." Raven remarked.

"So maybe she _did _leave! And maybe it was _sad! _But you know what?! It's _okay! _Because she was just trying to do something _good! _And to undo the damage _your dad _caused! And just because she didn't say _goodbye, _that doesn't mean she doesn't _care _about us! She just made a _mistake! _But we _all _make mistakes sometimes…"

Weiss allowed a small smile to spread over her lips; impressed by Ruby's words. "Wow… Ruby, I… I never really thought about it like-"

"So _shut up! _And get _over _it! We have more _important things _to do other than yelling at each other!" Ruby concluded. "For example, I need to find a new body for _Freckles!"_

The group silently watched as Ruby skipped off to find her uncle. Weiss let out a tired sigh, unable to believe that she had fallen in love with such a dolt. "... that girl's a _dork." _Velvet remarked.

"Yes." Weiss facepalmed. "But she's _my _dork." A few minutes later, the former heiress decided to take Ruby's advice with a grain of salt and approached her older sister. Winter was spying on the Federation through her scroll when she finally noticed Weiss. "Um, Winter? Can I… talk to Penny?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, sure. Penelope. _Penny! _Get out here!"

Suddenly, the Maiden fragment rematerialized in the air, alongside the memories of Phoebe and Pearl. "Just say you're _sorry." _Phoebe suggested before noticing Weiss. "Oh! Good luck!"

Penelope sighed as her sisters disappeared. "Can't a girl have some _privacy _for - oh…"

Winter awkwardly tugged at her shirt collar. "Uh, I'll give you two some _privacy." _She declared, leaving the two alone.

Weiss rubbed the back of her neck, uncomfortably. "Sooo… it's been brought to my attention that I haven't been… I mean, I've been pretty _mean _to you since you got back."

"Heh, talk about _understatement of the year!" _Penelope laughed, awkwardly, only to bite her lip as Weiss glared at her. "Although… in your defense, I guess I _did _leave you guys without saying anything. Which, at the time, seemed like the heroic and poetic thing to do. But, from a _practical standpoint, _I suppose it wouldn't have hurt to at least leave a _note."_

"Yeah." Weiss said with a sigh. "But that doesn't make what I did right. The truth is even with how I said I could handle getting but a fraction of the affection Ruby gave you, I'm still finding myself feeling jealous of how much she loves you. I somehow doubt she'd mourn that much if _I_ were to disappear."

"Huh, _that's_ funny," Penelope remarked with a light chuckle. _"I've_ always been a bit jealous of _you."_

"Wait what?"

Penelope nodded. "Even after Paulette killed off her memory of you, you were all she ever talked about: how brave, kind, loyal, and determined you were, the strides you were making at repairing your bond, how she was glad to have you as her partner, etc. At the end of the day, _I_ might have had her _affection,_ but _you_ had her _attention,_ if that makes sense."

Weiss could only give a sigh in response. "I think so. It's just too bad that she can't express her love to both of us at the same time."

Penelope blinked before giving a low chuckle. "Maybe she _can."_

Weiss looked up at Penelope, briefly a bit put off by how eerily similar the Maiden Fragment's "scheming face" was to Ruby's before gulping. "I'm probably going to regret asking this later, but what did you have in mind?"

Meanwhile, Ruby and the others were discussing what had happened during the confrontation with Toro Rojo, aka Adam Taurus. "So we know that Taurus is working with Torchwick to keep the Federation and the Rebellion fighting each other. But we don't know _why."_

"Maybe there's _treasure _buried on the island." Coco suggested, only to rub the back of her neck at the indignant glares she earned. "Yeah, I guess that's a bit of a stretch."

"There's gotta be _something _both of them are after." Blake reasoned, thoughtfully. "Or maybe… someone _else _wants them here. And they need them to do something _for _them."

"Well, _that _makes a little sense." Ruby agreed. "After all, Roman's more of an _arms dealer _than a _military leader. _I would have asked him what he was doing if he hadn't pushed me out of the Warthog."

"Wait, back up: Roman _pushed_ you out of the Warthog?!" Velvet called out. "You weren't just clumsy and _fell_ out?!"

"I'm pretty sure that she would have remembered something like that," Jaune replied, before looking to look at Coco and Ruby. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I think so, Jaune, but come on: _no one_ is going to watch a web series about a bunch of kids going to a school training them to fight monsters." Coco said with a teasing grin.

"Ignoring how I personally think that would be a _great_ show to watch, while I don't have any hard evidence, I'm fairly certain that Roman Torchwick is to the Federation what Toro Rojo...sorry, Adam Taurus was to the Republic." Ruby said with a frown...before she blinked as her scroll went off. "Anyways, I'm going to leave this to you guys. Weiss wants to talk to me in her room about something."

"Okay, Winter and Qrow are going to stake out some kind of plane flight tomorrow." Yang brought up. "How about me, Blake, and Team CFVY go with them and get some answers?"

"Sounds good to me." Fox nodded.

Meanwhile, Ruby frowned as she entered the room her girlfriend was bunking in, noting how dark it was in there. "Weiss, are you in here?"

"Yes, we are."

Ruby gasped as she turned to see Weiss closing and locking the door behind her, wearing only an open night gown and a set of lingerie. "I...if your plan was to surprise me, I'd say you did a good...wait: did you say 'we'?"

"She did," Penelope's voice called out from Weiss's mouth. _"We_ did."

Ruby backed away in shock, quickly realizing that Penny was possessing Weiss, but that said possession was different from what she had experienced with Paulette. "I...I don't understand."

"With everything that's happened, we've _both_ been desperately craving your touch, you dolt," Weiss declared with a light grin. "But we knew that you'd _never_ pick one of us for fear of upsetting the other."

"So we took care of that problem for you," Penelope's voice declared as she used her influence to have Weiss approach their mutual love interest with a rather saucy walk that Ruby had thought she'd never see from the heiress. "Tonight, we have but one request."

"Make love to us, Ruby Rose," the conjoined voice of Weiss and Penelope declared as they let the robe fall to the ground. Needless to say, _none_ of them would forget that night.

The next morning, Weiss, currently not wearing anything except her birthday suit, couldn't but let out a light chuckle as an equally naked Ruby woke up next to her with a cute yawn. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

The hooded huntress could only blink in shock in reply. "So...that really happened."

"Last night was no dream, I assure you." the heiress declared with a loving smile before letting out a light moan. "I'm starting to understand why Yang and Blake enjoy doing this so much."

Ruby shook her head in amusement as she brushed some hair out of her girlfriend's eyes, before giving a light frown. "So, out of curiosity, is Penny still up in your head , or…?"

"She left to take care of something else just before you woke up," Weiss explained. "But she wanted to pass along the message that she enjoyed every moment of our time together...and she wasn't the only one. That said, don't expect this to be a regular thing: not sure how much I liked there being someone else in my head."

Remembering her experiences with Paulette, Ruby nodded in understanding. "Preaching to choir there, Gill bait."

Weiss just rolled her eyes in amusement as she booped her girlfriend on the nose. "You dolt: it's pronounced 'Geliebte.'" she remarked before the two of them kissed.

Meanwhile, on another part of the island, Winter and Qrow led Raven, Blake, Yang, and Team CFVY to their destination. "If our intel was correct, there should be a cargo plane passing through here at any moment." Winter explained. "It flies too low to be detected by the Federation or Rebels, which means…"

"It _must _belong to Torchwick." Blake surmised. "So if we capture the pilot, we can figure out what he and Adam are up to."

"Precisely." Winter nodded. "Now everyone, get into position."

"Winter, I feel I should warn you," Blake declared. "If we are facing Adam, he won't hesitate to try and kill you."

"Wouldn't be the _first_ time I've faced someone like that and probably won't be the _last_ either," Winter said with a shrug.

Suddenly, the aforementioned cargo plane could be heard flying overhead. But before they could plan a means of forcing it to land, they saw that it was already engulfed in flames and headed for the ground. "Oh, shit! _Run!" _Qrow shouted.

Everyone managed to duck in cover just in time. "Hey, that's a _Federation _plane!" Yatsuhashi pointed out. Just then, two helicopters swooped down towards the crash, prompting the group to advance. Once they arrived, they discovered a group of Torchwick's men attacking the Federation troops, one of whom Yatsuhashi recognized. "Hey, it's Dr. Octavia Ember! She's like a medic who _saves _people!"

"Yats, _wait!" _Velvet called out as her lover drew his sword and charged at the conflict. "Wait! We're outnumbered!"

"Not anymore!" A voice called from behind.

"Oh, you've _got _to be kidding me." Yang facepalmed. "What are _you _doing here, Wukong?"

"I came to help, Captain Xaio Long!" The monkey Faunus replied.

Unfortunately, one lieutenant wasn't quite enough to turn the tide of the fight. Yatsuhashi managed to reach Octavia just in time to shield her from the onslaught. "Dr. Ember! Are you okay?!"

"Find a happy place! Find a happy place! Find a happy place!" Octavia screamed at herself, cupping her hands over her ears.

"Move it or _lose _it, Dr. Crazy-pants!" Raven ordered as she jumped into the fray.

But the mercenaries quickly surrounded the huntsmen and huntresses. One of the more sadistic of the mercenaries laughed as he ordered a ceasefire and lifted his helmet off. "Well, well, well… I just came here for a chance to get paid a shit-ton of money to kill a shit-ton of Faunus. But getting a chance to kill _Agents White and Gray _of Project Guardsman? Hell, I'd do _that _shit for free!" Just then, something soared through the air and sliced the mercenary's throat.

"Uh… was that a _boomerang?" _Raven asked no one in particular.

Suddenly, four Federation soldiers stormed into the battlefield, attacking the mercenaries and saving Team CFVY and Raven. A white rabbit Faunus dressed in red and black and wielding a hammer similar to Nora's ran up to the chieftess. "Hello, Ms. Branwen!" She greeted, cheerfully. "We are _Team SWCD! _We were sent to help you guys when you lost contact with General Lionheart! My name's _Haley Cotton! _The snake Faunus with the suped up sniper gauntlets is _Deadeyes! _The crocodile Faunus with the boomerangs is _Snapper Wood! _And the _shark _is…"

"Polu Shark is a _shark!" _The shark Faunus bellowed as he tore through the mercenaries with his bare hands and teeth.

"Hell yeah!" Haley cheered as he used his staff to beat back five others. "That's the spirit buddy! Keep it up!"

"Polu Shark is a shark!" Polu smiled, giving his friend a thumbs up before continuing his slaughter.

"Leave one of them alive!" Winter ordered. "We need someone to question about Torchwick and Taurus!"

"No promises!" Haley replied before one of the mercenaries punched her in the face. Her aura took the blunt of the blow, giving her the chance to grab her attacker. "Y'know, I just got out of an abusive relationship. And I decided after that… _no one _gets to hit me, _ever _again!"

Winter winced as the rabbit Faunus brutally beat the hired gun with her hammer. Deadeyes, on the other hand, either hadn't heard her request, or just ignored her, as he mowed down rows of mercenaries with his gauntlets. Snapper laughed as his Outback Rebounds - a pair of pistols that converted to razor-sharp boomerangs - sliced off countless body parts. "What did Lionheart _send _us?" She asked herself.

"Who cares? As long as they're _helping." _Raven replied, as the lieutenants arrived in another warthog.

"Oops! Sorry! Sorry!" Ilia apologized as she crashed through a wall. "Stupid pedals!"

"Oh, shit! It's Team SWCD!" Saber exclaimed.

"Yeah! And they're _helping _us!" Yang repeated as she blasted a few more mercenaries before a stream of blood splashed over her face, courtesy of the towering shark Faunus devouring the frightened hired guns.

"Polu Shark is a shark!"

"Well, that is just as _fascinating _as the last _fifty-two times _you said it!" Raven snapped as she fired ice dust. "Why does he keep saying that?"

"Polu Shark had a bit of an accident when he was younger and now he can't talk all smart like you guys." Deadeyes called out. "With a few exceptions, he's only capable of saying those exact words in that exact order."

"Well, that's gonna get real _old, _real _fast _if I have to keep-" Raven cut herself off as she dodged the incoming fire dust.

"Yeah! _You _get a boomerang! And _you _get a boomerang! _Everyone _gets a boomerang!" Snapper laughed as he continued to carve up mercenaries with his weapons.

"You're enjoying this a little _too much." _Saber remarked.

"Mate, I'm breathin' _fresh air _for the first time in _months!" _Snapper chuckled. "I'm gonna enjoy it while I _can!"_

At last, the conflict died down and the mercenaries had been vanquished. Team SWCD went off to the side to inspect the weapons the Federation was using. Yang helped her wife back on her feet just as the cat Faunus caught a glimpse of the saviors.

"I wasn't expecting to get rescued by my _other ex." _Blake chuckled as they approached the group.

"You and Wukong?" Yang gagged. "Ugh…"

"What? Ew, _no!" _Blake corrected nodding back towards the group's tallest member. Yang's jaw went slack as Polu Shark winked at the cat Faunus.

"Uh… how'd you guys…?" She couldn't help but ask as she gestured with her fingers.

"You _don't _wanna know." Blake shook her head and nervously approached the shark Faunus. "Uh… _hey, _Polu. Long time, no see."

"Polu Shark is a shark…" Polu nodded in agreement before glancing over at Yang.

"Uh, this is my _wife, _Yang." She introduced. "I hope you don't mind that we'll be working together."

Polu shrugged, nonchalantly. "Polu Shark is a shark."

"It _is _good to see you, again." Blake smiled. "No hard feelings?"

In response, Polu simply scratched his former girlfriend behind the ears just the way she liked it. _"Polu Shark..._ is a _shark."_

"Great. I look forward to working with you, again."

Yang watched in bafflement as Polu walked off to look after Octavia. "You _understood _all that?"

Blake shrugged, coyly. "It's more about reading _context _than anything else."

"Oh, sure." Ciel grumbled to herself. "But it's _too much _for you to try and learn _French."_

Fox simply scoffed. "Yeah: we wouldn't want to miss out on how much you hate us."

Ciel blinked. "Wait, what are you…?"

Fox folded his arms in frustration. "It's the only explanation I can come up with as to why Carrie went rogue: she was perfectly fine with us but after you spent an entire afternoon talking to her in French, all of a sudden, she's started being hostile with us. Whatever you told her, it clearly convinced her that we were the bad guys that needed to be taken down. Now _why_ would something like _that_ happen unless the stories you were sharing were all in a negative light?"

"...is it too late to say I'm sorry?"

"I was forced to put her down by the time Adam showed up. It'll take more than an 'I'm sorry' to fix this," Fox declared with a frown. "But more importantly you need to ask yourself which means more to you: us not speaking French, or the fact that we've been _trying_ to understand you? Your anger or your friends?"

"Okay, can we come back to this soap opera _later?!" _Sun exclaimed, bitterly. "Do you have _any _idea who we're working with?! Team SWCD are a bunch of _criminals! _Convicted felons with-!"

"'With no hope of reform.'" Deadeyes interrupted. "Yeah. Everyone on Menagerie knows that, monkey boy. _That's _why Lionheart made us an _offer; _we do his dirty work, and he shaves time off our sentences."

"Maybe he's just upset about that _one _merc who got a shot on him." Hayley chuckled. "Y'know, the one you _missed?"_

"You must have gotten hit in the _head, _Cotten." Deadeyes remarked, reloading his gauntlets. "I _never _miss-"

"'You _never _miss.'" Hayley rolled her eyes.

"'Polu Shark is a _shark.'" _Polu huffed.

"'You never _miss!'" _Snapper groaned. "Yeah, yeah! We bloody _know! _You never _shut up _about it!"

"Well, _I _was genuinely impressed, Deadeyes." Winter smiled.

"Ugh, _Atlesians." _Snapper scoffed.

Winter couldn't help but glare. "Vacuans."

"Poms!"

"Convicts!"

"_Wankers!" _They both growled.

"Hey, guys, check it out, the pilot survived!" Velvet shouted.

"Wait, what?"

Sure enough, there on the ground was the pilot of the plane that they had brought down, much to his annoyance. "Oh terrific."

A few hours later, the group had brought the mercenary back to the onsite lab for interrogation.

"WHY WON'T HE TALK!?" Yang's voice echoed out through the area.

Ruby merely sighed in response. "I should probably go try and calm her down a little."

Meanwhile, Penelope winced as Yang threw a door across the room in a fit of rage. "Well, she _definitely_ takes after her mother…"

Winter blinked. "Which one?"

Penelope paused. "That's... actually a _very_ good question."

Just then, Svetlana and Mikhail walked up to the group. "How's it going?" The crimson crusader asked.

Ren sighed and shook his head. "Could be better, in all honesty…"

"We still have the manifest from that ship we commandeered from the other mercenaries, right?" Jaune asked.

"Yes, actually, no thanks to you." Penelope snapped. "Team CFVY _did_ manage to recover a completely intact computer hard drive with a list of the records and manifest from the wreckage of the plane they brought down with help from Team RWBY…"

"So, you know, go Team CFVY!" Coco snorted.

Penelope glared at the fashionista and her team. "..._and_ thanks to Team CFVY, those files are currently locked and in security lockdown."

Velvet winced, her ears drooping, sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that…"

Ren blinked. "Wait, what?"

Velvet raised her hand. "My fault, guys: I tried seeing if I could get a lock on the enemy com-systems while on board, just in case we ever had a need to listen in on them later on. It worked, but unfortunately I forgot to give myself proper clearance when I made that modification."

Winter sighed. "It's fine: you couldn't have known this would happen…"

Fox interrupted. "Wait, we've got a _bunch_ of people who are good with computers, and Penny's practically part of the Matrix now; why don't they just hack the files?"

Penelope scoffed, indignantly "'Why don't we just hack it?' While we're at it, why don't I just download the mainframe, or cross-reference the data base? Don't assume that just because people like Winter, Velvet, and myself know our way around software that we can just cross a couple of wires and instantly get results!

"Sorry," Fox said with a wince.

Penelope just sighed in response. "No, _I'm_ sorry for being so short with you. This whole thing is just so…"

"Frustrating?" Ruby guessed as she approached the group.

"Not the word I would have used, but yeah; frustrating." Penelope sighed. "Honestly, Ruby, I can't blame your sister for getting angry…"

Yang walked up to them with a smile. "Don't you mean _Yangry?"_ She chuckled as everyone else groaned at the pun, only to growl not long afterwards. " ...but seriously, I just don't _get_ it: that guy won't give up _anything!"_

"Excuse me." Octavia called as she rode in on Polu's shoulders. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but did you say that the prisoner is awake?"

Yatsuhashi snorted. "For now, but I've got five Lien that says that Yang or Nora breaks the guy's legs within the next five minutes...with an extra ten that it's the former…"

"I'll take those odds." Jaune smirked.

"I see." Octavia smiled and hopped down from her perch. "If you don't mind, do you think I could have a few minutes alone with him?"

Blake blinked in confusion. "Uh, Winter's already tried diplomacy and Yang's our resident bad cop. I mean, I get it; your team is currently captured or worse by the mercenaries, but...well, no offense, but what exact methods are _you_ going to try that we haven't already thought of?"

Needless to say, everyone was unsettled by the maniac look in the girl's eyes as she strode into the designated interrogation room. Only Polu smirked and crossed his arms as he watched her go. "Heh, heh, heh… Polu Shark is a shark."

Meanwhile, the mercenary was unimpressed as Octavia approached him. "Ooooh, what's the _matter?" _He asked, mockingly. "Did blondie get tuckered out? What about 'Agent White?' She send _you_ to try and negotiate my surrender?"

Octavia gave a seemingly harmless smile at her captive audience as she took a seat in front of him. "Do you know where we _are?" _She chuckled at the confused look on his face. "Ah, I remember volunteering with my parents at a research facility just like this one; built to research the surrounding wildlife. It's got _all_ of the bells and whistles: a decked out laboratory, an incinerator, and all kinds of state-of-the-art surgical equipment! Would you like to _see _them?"

Five minutes later, outside the building, the entire group were frozen in fear as the mercenary's screams continued to assault their ears. The fact that Octavia was singing opera the whole time did _nothing_ to take away from the implied carnage.

Ruby gulped. "Weiss? I'm scared…"

"Ruby, we're _all_ scared…" Weiss assured her while holding her hand.

At last, Octavia ran back to the group, covered in blood. "His name is _Richard Vanilla, _he's _ex-military, _and was kind enough to give me the coordinates to a nearby _radio tower!"_

"You're _kidding." _Winter remarked.

"No, silly! I'm Dr. Ember! HA! Dad jokes!" Octavia laughed before Polu began licking the blood from her fingers. "Ha ha ha! Not _now, _Polu! I'm still working! Come with me Agents White and Gray!"

The two former Guardsmen reluctantly followed the crazed doctor into the room. Much to their surprise, the mercenary wasn't even tied up any more. Instead, he was rocking back and forth in a fetal position, terrified as the doctor approached. "You can ask him _anything _you want, now! And I'm sure you'll find his disposition _much _more pleasant." She declared before her gaze hardened at the hired gun. "Isn't that _right, _Richard?"

"FOR THE LOVE OF GODS, GET THIS PSYCHOPATH _AWAY _FROM ME!" Richard screamed.

"He's _all yours!" _Octavia smiled as she cheerfully skipped out of the room.

Winter blinked before looking to her companions. "I shouldn't be too long."

"Probably not. Meanwhile, I'm going to go ahead and check to make sure Loki and the others are still in their cells." Ruby declared. "With everything that's happened, we don't need any more surprises added into the mix."

"Careful Red: that guy's not to be underestimated," Mata felt the need to point out.

"I know," the hooded huntress said with a nod, "but my sister was able to handle him, so I should be able to do the same if worse comes to worse."

"Here's hoping we won't have to find out," "Rachael" declared before Ruby headed towards the cells with a nod. "That girl is too pure for this world sometimes."

"She does have a point though," Jaune remarked. "With everything that's happened, we're going to need some kind of edge."

"Well, maybe we can...no, it's too risky," Deadeyes declared with a shake of her head.

"And this is the hardened criminal saying that," Sun said with a nervous gulp.

"Risky or not, he wouldn't have brought it up if it couldn't help us out," Raven remarked, "so, let's hear it."

Deadeyes just sighed in response. "While I was still locked up, I'd heard some rumors of a temple deep within the Menagerie wilderness that housed some sort of superweapon that an ancient civilization dedicated their lives to protect. Unfortunately, while the people who lived there have long since vanished, the temple's curse lives on."

Blake nodded. "I think I know about the temple he's talking about. My parents used to tell me stories about it. It's said that only a true warrior, pure of heart and of mental clarity, would be able to access the item stored there. Anyone else who attempted to do so would be forced to face their worst fears."

"Well, I don't know about the whole 'pure of heart and of mental clarity' bit, but it seems to me that we have a bunch of true warriors right here in this room," Yatsuhasi declared.

"He's right: we've faced our fears before: why should this be any different?" Pyrrha remarked.

"Besides if _you_ know about this temple, Blake, odds are that _Adam_ knows about it, so we'll need to head there to at least make sure that him and Torchwick don't get their hands on said weapon." Raven felt the need to point out.

"That's fair," the cat Faunus said with a nod. "I can show you the area where the temple is rumored to be located, but I'll warn you now that this won't be as easy as you might be thinking. In fact, I suspect that we'll be facing _true terror_ before too long."

As if to prove her right, a startled yell echoed through the base. "Svetlana! Mikhail!" Ruby called out from the detention cells. "You better come look at this!"

The Rushland couple sprinted forward, with Ciel close behind them. At last, they reached Loki's cell, expecting the worst, only to freeze in shock. Loki - the man who had caused them both so much grief and misery - was now dead on the floor of his cell, with the same wide, menacing grin plastered over his face even now.

"Who could've _done _this?" Ciel asked even as she moved to comfort a shell shocked Ruby Rose.

Svetlana sneered as she examined the bruises on her enemy's neck. "Someone _worse."_

**Fifteen minutes ago**

"Y'know, I was beginning to think you'd _forgotten _about me." Loki chuckled as the woman in black approached him.

"I could _never _forget you." Natalia snarled, pulling off her mask.

The mad trickster let out a light sigh as the Rushland woman reached out for his neck. "Your daughter's grown up to be _quite the woman." _He chortled. "You should be _proud."_

"I made a _mistake _years ago. I saved _your _life, and it cost me _mine." _Natalia gripped his neck and began squeezing. "Shut up and _die."_

**To be continued**


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 47**

"All this time dealing with Loki, and he gets snuffed out by my Mom," Svetlana called out, unable to believe it herself.

"You know we'll have to go after her eventually," Saber declared. "Criminal or not, Natalia just committed murder and denied someone their right to trial."

"I know," the Crimson Crusader said with a sigh. "But we'll have to deal with her later. Right now, we've got _other_ problems."

"Right: there's still Adam and Torchwick that we have to deal with," Raven said with a nod.

"And Barmak," Yang remarked. "Let's not forget he's on the island as well."

Svetlana nodded, but before she joined in the conversation, she noticed her husband was missing. She spotted him standing outside of the motel, leaning against the wall. "Mikhail? Are you okay?" She asked as she went over to him.

Mikhail just sighed. "I _know _that what your mother did was _wrong, _but I'd be _lying _if I said I didn't think I'll sleep better knowing he's _gone."_

"I know what you mean." Svetlana agreed before giving a soft chuckle.

Mikhail's eyebrow quirked. "What?"

"Well, now that he _is _gone… we don't have to worry about him trying to _hurt _either of us." She explained, resting her arms on his shoulders as she looked deep into his eyes. "That means… well, I mean, I've just been _thinking… _maybe we can finally think about starting a _family."_

Mikhail's eyes widened. "Really? I thought you were worried that we didn't have enough-"

"The harvest was an _excuse." _Svetlana interrupted. "I was just _too scared _he'd find his way back to us. But now, we're _free. _We can still continue our war against crime in New Rushland, but maybe… maybe now, it won't be so _lonely."_

Mikhail blushed. "Well, how many children do you _want?"_

"Three." Svetlana smiled. "At _least."_

"Speaking of futures, though, we need to have a talk," Blake declared as she and Yang pulled Ilia aside.

"So, how long have you been crushing on my wife?" Yang couldn't help but ask, before immediately wincing. "Sorry, that was…"

"No, it's okay." Ilia declared, sighing as she pointedly looked away from Yang and Blake. "Since we were kids, I suppose. My chameleon traits meant that I could pass as human if I wanted to, but that kind of thing was always a double-edged sword, as it meant that I never quite fit in anywhere...except when I was with one Blake Belladonna. She was the first person to make me feel...normal, I guess. The fact that she had a _really_ cute butt didn't hurt either."

"Hard to resist the Bellabooty," Yang agreed with a smirk.

"Ignoring that, I'm sure others would have treated you the same." Blake said with fervor even as she worked to suppress a blush.

"No, they wouldn't have," Ilia denied, "Which is why it was so easy to fall for you. I'll admit when you got together with Polu Shark and then Adam, I was a tad bit upset, but I figured I could be happy for you as long as they treated you right."

"For the record, the break up with Polu Shark was a mutual thing." Blake remarked. "And we _both_ know now that Adam was a mistake."

"I don't blame you for that last one," Ilia reassured her childhood friend. "He always did have a way with words. Anyways, I keep thinking back to that night where you left the White Fang and I keep asking myself, 'Why didn't I follow you?' but the truth is, I just didn't want you to remind you of _him."_

"You couldn't have done that if you tried." Blake declared, knowing that her friend was referring to Adam.

"I know that now," Ilia said with a bittersweet grin, "but you know what they say: 'hindsight is 20-20.'" She looked to Yang with a sigh. "In the end, the better girl won."

"...it's not a contest you know." Yang said with a light smile. "Looking at how you and Blake interact, there's little doubt in my mind of how close you two are. And, for what it's worth, I think that if you had told Blake how you felt before she had met me, I wouldn't have even stood a chance."

Ilia blinked in shock upon hearing this, giving a light blush as Blake nodded in agreement. "As I said, hindsight is 20-20. Guess I'll just have to find someone else to try that kind of courage with." She then gave Yang a serious expression. "Take care of her, you hear me?"

"Always," the blonde brawler declared with a nod, "And if you'd like, my offer for a threesome is still on the table."

Ilia couldn't help but share a blush with Blake. "I...I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask." Yang said with a grin.

"Sorry to bother you, but our scanners have picked up on a couple intruders just outside the camp." Saber piped up.

"Oh, _great." _Yang muttered to herself.. "Torchwick and his gods damned cockblockers."

"Can the attitude, Xiao Long. This is _serious." _Winter ordered. "We'll split into _three groups. _You and your sister take Octavia to check the caves. Lie, Valkyrie, and I will take Team SWCD to the forest. The rest of us will stay here and continue our research on the mysterious temple Deadeyes told us about."

"Road trip! WHEEEEE!" Hayley cheered as she reloaded her weapon. "C'mon, boys! Quit playin' with yerselves and let's get a _move on!"_

"Ugh, keep it _down, _Hayls…" Snapper groaned. "My ears are still ringin' after that _last _bang."

Deadeyes snorted. "What _is _that, Chopper? Vacuan for _'hangover?'" _The one-eyed snake Faunus chuckled as his friend flipped him off.

"Polu Shark is a _shark." _Palu commented as he revealed a gatling gun from his back.

"Whoa!" Coco tilted her sunglasses down. "Where was he hiding _that?!"_

"Pretty sure the answer is 'Polu Shark is a shark.'" Velvet commented.

With that, the two teams split up to search for the intruders. Yang couldn't help but glance over at the shark Faunus before heading into the nearest cave. "So _what _if he can haul around a gun as big as he is." She said to herself. "Blake and I are _married."_

"Uh-oh, is someone _jealous?" _Octavia smiled, teasingly.

"No!" Yang denied. "I'm not jealous! _You're _jealous!"

"Oooh! You're _hostile! _Ha-ha-ha! I would _love _to psychoanalyze you." Octavia bit her lip, seductively. "That's how I met _Polu _in the first place!"

"Oh…" Yang smiled, slightly. "So he's _spoken _for."

"I wouldn't say _that." _The doctor shrugged, coyly. "What Polu and I have is a _casual relationship. _Unless we run into each other in the field, the only time I get to visit him is during _conjugal visits."_

Ruby rubbed her chin. "Okay, _two questions. _One; Polu seems like such a sweetheart. What'd he do to get in jail? Two; what's a… conjugal visit?"

"Well, from what I understand, he was involved in the White Fang at an early age. And a _conjugal visit _is-"

Yang quickly slapped her hand over the doctor's mouth to shut her up. "It's one of those things from Blake's _naughty fan-fics!" _She replied, vaguely, before realizing something. "Hey, wait… that _is _something from one of her fan-fics. _'The Cat Who Liked Water!'"_

"Oh! You've read that, too?!" Octavia's smile widened.

Yang gave another glance towards Ruby before whispering in Octavia's ear. "So… is it true that even shark Faunus have _two-?"_

"Yaaaaaang!" An eerie voice echoed throughout the cave, sending a chill down the group's spines.

"Huh?!" Who's there?!" Yang activated Dragon Fang as she looked behind her.

"Yaaaaaaang!" The voice came again.

"Who's there?!" Yang repeated, trying to guard her sister. "I'm warning you! I'm _armed and dangerous!"_

"Yang!" Jean squealed with glee as she ran up to the group.

"AH!" Yang yelled out in surprise, before blinking as she took in the visage of their companion. "Wait, Jean?!"

"Oh, my gods! You finally found me!" The medical student sobbed, happily. "Oh, it was _horrible! _After Jaune hit me with that teleporter cube, I was sucked into some kind of alternate dimension where I was forced to constantly relive my worst nightmares until I _lost my mind! _And then I _found _it! And then I _lost _it again! But it was the thought of _my best friends, _tirelessly searching for a way to bring me back that kept me going! And _look! _Look at how my good faith has been _rewarded! _Oooh! I _love _you guys!"

"... wait, you were _gone?" _Yang's eyebrow arched.

"Wha… _yes!"_

"Since when?"

"Since when?! Since the _beach! _You don't remember?!"

"Hang on…" Yang took out her scroll and dialed up their Rushland friend. "Hey, Svets? Do you remember sending Jean to another dimension?"

Back at the lab, Svetlana could only blink at the question. "Jean? She's been here with _us, _hasn't she? Hey, Pyrrha! Jaune! Haven't you been keeping an eye on Jean?!"

"Who?" Pyrrha asked.

"Jean." Svetlana repeated. "You know, the _purple girl? _The _medic?"_

"Jean… _Jean…" _Jaune scratched his head in thought. "Mmm, _nope. _I got nothing."

"Yeah, I guess she's just got one of those faces, y'know?" Pyrrha shrugged.

At that, Yang hung up her scroll and turned back to the flabbergasted medic. "Huh. I guess with everything else that's been happening, nobody noticed you were gone. Crazy, huh?"

Jean's eye twitched as she felt something deep within herself snap. She began to chuckle. "'Crazy?' Ha ha ha ha… _'crazy?!' _Ha ha ha ha ha! HA HA HA HA! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Oh, shit! Is Loki back?!" Yang asked, scanning the area.

"Arrogant fools!" Jean bellowed, sounding like a familiar rage-based Maiden fragment. "I've suffered from your incompetence for the last time! Now! PREPARE! TO FACE! _OBLIVION!"_

"_Huh?!" _Yang's eyes went wide as Jean tackled the blonde brawler and began mercilessly pounding her face in.

"Take _this! _And _that! _And some of _this! _And one of _these!"_

Ruby, recognizing what was happening, gained a stern expression. "Paulette, STOP!"

Jean suddenly froze in place before giving an arrogant chuckle. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the little silver-eyed prodigy." She then blinked in confusion. "Why did I say that?"

"Yeah, why _did_ she say that?" Yang groaned out. "Also, why did she just attack me?"

"Paulette possessed her longer than anyone else, myself included," Ruby declared. "I'm thinking that Jean might have tapped into some of her leftover influence to try and stay sane...but it _clearly_ didn't aid in her intelligence."

Jean simply snarled in reply. "You abandon me, forget me, and now you insult me!? How much more…?"

"Do you still have your scroll on you?"

Jean blinked at this question. "Excuse me?"

"Do you still have your scroll on you?" Ruby repeated. "At any point in time, did the thought of trying to contact us so that we would have an easier time finding you ever pop up in your mind?"

Here, Jean couldn't help but pale, grasping at her pockets to reveal that, sure enough, she still had her scroll on her and that she never even bothered to use it to contact them. "Okay, fair point," she admitted with a blush. "But that still doesn't excuse you guys forgetting me after everything I've…"

"...and what _have_ you done?" Ruby growled out, sounding a bit like Paulette herself. "Besides sitting around waiting for one of us to die, that is? I mean, I get it: you're not a big fan of a violence, but there's a _big_ difference between not wanting to fight and not helping your friends defend themselves."

"I helped you against Cinder." Jean growled out.

"Ah, yes, the defibrillator freezing Cinder Fall in place," the hooded huntress nodded. "But tell me: if Pyrrha hadn't prompted you to do so, would you have done the same thing? At least Octavia has shown some skills aside from sitting off to the sides while everyone else is getting killed!"

Jean just gasped. "You've already replaced me!?"

"Not yet," Ruby growled out. "But if you don't suck it up and start acting like an _actual_ member of this team, we might reconsider...and before you argue how that isn't fair, name one thing you yourself have done for us."

Jean scoffed. "Oh, that's easy. I've…" She then blinked. "No, wait, that was Pyrrha's contribution, wasn't it? How about...no, wait, that was mostly Penny, Velvet, and Ciel. Wait, give me a minute."

"That's what I thought." Ruby said with a scoff. "Face it: you've got no one to blame but yourself for us forgetting about you in the face of having Adam and Torchwick trying to kill us while you were away."

"Wait, _that's_ what you were dealing with while I was gone?!" Jean yelled out. "...I'd probably forget about me too."

Ruby's expression softened. "Hey, it's alright. Let's just head back to the lab, and bring you up to speed, and then - _OCTAVIA! NOW!"_

Octavia struck the crazed medic with her own medikit. "Ouch! The back of my head!" Paulette cried out before slipping into unconsciousness.

"Interesting." Octavia smiled. "And you say she's a _medic?"_

"Yeah. _And _a pacifier." Ruby nodded.

"_Pacifist." _Yang corrected.

"Whatever. Anyway, it's not her fault she's like this. Not entirely." Ruby explained. "She's still recovering from having a malicious entity in her head for a while, so she's a bit unstable at the moment."

"Well, _you_ certainly handled her pretty well. How'd you do that, anyways?" Yang couldn't help but ask.

Ruby just tapped at the side of her head. "Jean isn't the _only_ one who was marked by Paulette: figured I'd give the shadow of the angry Maiden fragment a taste of her own medicine."

Meanwhile, Ren, Nora, Winter and Team SWCD trekked through the forest with their weapons armed. The crocodile Faunus tucked one of his boomerangs into his belt as he reached for a flask. Winter shook her head. "Were you and Gray separated at _birth _or something?"

"Ah, blow it out yer arse, Ice Queen. I haven't had a _real _drink since I was _locked up." _Snapper retorted, taking a swig.

"Why _were _you in prison?" Nora asked. "What'd you do?"

"Drinkin' and drivin'."

Hayley snorted. "And the first thing you do is drink _alcohol?"_

"What? I ain't _reformed."_

"Still, you could _kill _someone with that nasty habit." The rabbit Faunus reasoned.

"Who're _you? _My _parole officer? _It was only _one time… _okay, and I _may _have robbed _one _or _fifteen _banks. What'd _you _do to get in prison, fluff-butt?"

Hayley shrugged. "Manslaughter."

"If ya don't mind me askin', why're _you _helpin' Menagerie, mate?" Snapper asked the JNPR couple as he took another swig from his flask. "Ya ain't even _Faunus."_

"It doesn't matter." Nora replied. "We know that Faunus are people, too. Some of our best _friends _are Faunus!"

"Yeah!" Ren added. "They help bring _diversity _to our lives."

"Diversity?" Hayley smirked.

"Yeah, just imagine how _horrible _life would be if everyone you knew was _exactly the same." _Ren gave a sideways glance towards Nora before he let his mind wander.

"_Hey, has anyone seen my hammer?!" Nora #1 asked._

"_Hey! Those are _my _pancakes!" Nora #2 shouted._

_Nora #3 spat the mushed breakfast food back onto the plate and scooted it forward. "Sorry! Here you go!"_

"_Ew! That's gross!"_

"_Oh, what's the big deal? We all have the same mouth germs!"_

"_Hey!" Nora #4 burst into the room. "Who wants to look at my scrapbook of sexy Ren pictures?!"_

"_I do!" All four Noras shouted in unison. "Jinx! Double jinx! Magnihild! Arkos! Potato farm…! MY MILKSHAKE BRINGS ALL THE BOYS TO THE YARD! AND THEY'RE LIKE-!"_

"OH, DEAR GODS, _NO!" _Ren gripped the sides of his head in horror.

"Ren, what's _wrong _with you?" Nora placed a hand on her friend's shoulder for comfort.

"Huh?" Ren blinked, suddenly remembering the difference between wild imagination and reality. "Oh, uh, sorry. Just witnessing a waking nightmare. I'm fine now, _singular Nora."_

"Uh… _okay?" _Nora shrugged before turning back to Team SWCD. "Anyway, we stand by our friends! Faunus or not!"

"Right." Winter nodded in agreement. "Now, where _is _this temple you mentioned, Deadeyes?"

"I don't have the foggiest idea." The sharpshooter shrugged. "I've never actually _seen _the place. All I know is that it's supposed to be somewhere in the forests at the heart of Menagerie."

"That could be _anywhere!" _Nora groaned. "Why can't ancient civilizations be more specific?"

Just then, Svetlana's voice came over Nora's scroll. "Guys, Yang, Ruby, and Octavia just brought Jean back to us. I've pinpointed the location of the second intruder and I'm on my way, now. Sending you the coordinates."

A few minutes later, the Crimson Crusader met her allies. "So, this is where we're supposed to find our intruder?" Svetlana couldn't help but ask, with good reason, as the area looked more like a crash site than a hiding spot.

"I mean, it _is,_ but I'm not sure that we'll be finding anyone out here." Qrow remarked, before blinking as a figure started moving towards them through the leftover smoke from the crash. "...but I've been wrong before."

Winter nodded as she readied her sword. "Be ready for anything."

"Stand down, soldier."

The former Guardsman couldn't help but gasp in shock, having recognized that voice despite how long it'd been since she last heard it. "James?!" Winter called out in disbelief.

A mortally wounded General Ironwood could only give his former subordinate a bittersweet smile even as he limped towards the group through the smoke. "Evening, Agent White. Agent Grey."

"How are you here?!" Qrow called out. "You're supposed to be back in Atlas!"

"Which is precisely what our mutual foes _want_ you to think." James declared. "I don't know who exactly they got to fill the role, but right now there's an imposter sitting in my chair back in Atlas Academy."

Winter and Qrow caught the injured general just as he collapsed from exhaustion. "Then where have _you _been?" Qrow asked.

"Torchwick… Taurus… they were holding me hostage." James explained as his former soldiers carried him into the motel. "There's… there's an _airship _circling the island that uses some sort of _cloaking device. _They've been holding me… holding me hostage up there for _months. _They were _torturing _me for information on Atlas' military secrets. I held out for as long as I could but… I had to _stop _them, somehow. So during a transfer to another cell, I killed the guards and hijacked one of their escape pods."

"Crazy son of a bitch." Qrow shook his head. "Octavia! Hurry up and get in here!"

Half an hour later, the group waited outside the room for Octavia to do her work. The doctor returned with bloodstains all the way up to her elbows. "I'm… I'm sorry, but most of his internal organs have been replaced with cybernetics. It's beyond my capabilities."

Winter bit her lip to fight back the tears. "How much longer does he have?"

"Not long. A few minutes… _maybe _an hour. If you have anything to say to him, _now _is the time."

With a nod, Winter, Qrow, and Svetlana entered the room.

Qrow just sighed. "I know I could be a bit of an ass at times…"

"That's an understatement," Winter declared with a scoff.

"...but despite everything, I've always had respect for you Jimmy," Agent Gray said with a roll of his eyes, pointedly ignoring how he'd been interrupted. "I guess what I'm _trying_ to say here is that it's not going to be the same without you James." Qrow just shook his head before giving a salute. "I hope you find peace wherever it is you end up, General Ironwood."

Winter blinked in shock. "You've _never_ saluted him before."

"Figured he earned it this time around." Ruby's uncle said with a shrug.

"I appreciate it," the General declared with a grin before turning to Winter. "...you were right to disappear that night." James admitted. "If you had stayed, I'm not sure what Jacques would've done to you. What he would've forced _me_ to do to you."

"You would've never let him hurt me." Winter reassured him.

"I wish I could believe that, but my desire to protect Atlas has left me compromised on more than one occasion." the general admitted. "It's how Jacques was able to lead me around by the nose. I should've realized long ago that he was abusing what little trust I gave him and that he'd never _actually_ attack Atlas, as that would've hurt him as much as it would anyone else."

"Don't blame yourself: if there's one thing that Adam and Jacques seem to have in common, it's that they're both master manipulators," Svetlana replied. "They've got all the angles covered."

"Not _every_ angle." the general declared as he reached into his pocket and handed a flash drive to Winter. "Here… it's everything you need to know about their plans." Ironwood coughed, weakly. "It'll also lead you to the temple they're so interested in."

"... _thank you, _sir." Winter nodded, respectfully, before leaving the room.

"Svetlana… a _word?" _The dying general requested. As the Rushland woman knelt down before him, he reached into his pocket for another drive. "This… this is my entire financial savings… it should be _more _than enough to help you rebuild Rushland."

Svetlana was shocked as she accepted the drive. "But… but _why?"_

Ironwood chuckled, sadly. "In my line of work, you tend to witness a lot of _bad things. _So much _pain. _So much _misery. _At some point, it all seems to _blend together. _But I'll _never _forget taking a witness statement from a _fourteen-year-old girl _who had just watched her entire home get destroyed in one night."

Svetlana smiled, softly. "You were _kind, _James. I don't know where I'd be if you hadn't… thank you."

Another cough escaped from the general's mouth. "Do you remember how you used to leave my office behind my back? Even though I never _dismissed _you?"

Svetlana chuckled, lightly. "You always told me everything I needed at the time. And for such a stern general, you never seemed to _notice _when I left until I was gone."

"Yeah, well… looks like this time… I get to pull a… a disappearing act on _you _for… for once…" With that, General James Ironwood closed his eyes and released his final breath.

"James?" Svetlana gently shook the cyborg's arm, tears welling up in her eyes. "James?"

Qrow, understanding what had happened better than most, just brought the young girl into a comforting hug even as she broke down sobbing, silently promising the late General to look after the kids for him.

Svetlana looked back down at the drive her old friend had gifted her with, where she read the label. "'Krasnaya…'" She whispered to herself. As she said it, she felt a sense of inspiration growing.

"What's _that _mean?" Qrow asked out of curiosity.

Svetlana wiped her eyes as she pocketed the drive and rose to her feet. "It's _Rushland… _for _red."_

With the other flash drive, Winter and Octavia were able to pinpoint the location of the mysterious temple and within the hour, the group made their way towards it. Ruby couldn't help but tap Blake's shoulder. "Y'know, at some point we're gonna have to tell your parents that General Lionheart _isn't _the bad guy they think he is."

"It won't be that _easy, _Ruby." Blake sighed. "Adam was telling the truth about _one _thing; this war started _long _before he and Torchwick showed up."

"There's gotta be _something _we can do." Yang insisted. "If we can just get the two of them to sit down and _talk-" _Suddenly, the warthogs came to a sudden stop.

"Uh, guys, it looks like Roman and Adam made it to the temple first." Ciel nervously declared.

"Wait, what?!"

Sure enough, Adam, Roman, Neo, and several of their men were gathered around the temple they had been searching for.

"What do we do now?" Fox couldn't help but ask.

Winter just sighed as she took out some binoculars she had brought with her. "Not much we _can_ do except observe and hope they don't grab whatever's inside."

Here Ilia gulped in reply. "And if they _do_ grab it?"

"Plant our feet and show them that it's not the weapon that makes the warrior, but the one _holding_ the weapon," Blake reassured her old friend, patting her on the shoulder as she does.

"Good attitude, kid," Winter said with a smile before she began observing Roman and company through her binoculars.

Meanwhile, Adam and Roman were discussing the temple in question with one of their scientists. "Run that past me one more time." Roman requested.

The scientist just shrugged in reply. "Basically, the inscription says that _anyone _can enter the temple, but only a _true warrior_ of _pure heart _and _mental clarity _can successfully unlock the treasure that lays inside."

Roman shared a look with Neo and Adam before turning back to the scientist. "Okay… and what if the person who enters doesn't _fit _that description?"

Adam roughly shoved one of the mercenaries into the temple, causing him to vanish in a flash of light. Roman and Neo stared in shock at their partner. Adam shrugged. "Guess we'll _find out."_

Winter peered through her binoculars. "That man just… _disappeared."_

"Really? Let me see." Yang made a grab for the binoculars, but Winter just swatted her hand away.

Five minutes later, the mercenary exited the temple, falling onto his hands and knees. "Oh, gods! I'm back! I'm back!"

Adam just looked at the panicking mercenary for a while before turning towards one of the onsite scientists. "Huh. Guess I owe you fifty lien."

"What happened, kid?" Roman couldn't help but ask, helping the mercenary back on his feet.

The mercenary just continued to whimper. "Oh, gods I... I saw... things... _horrible_ things. People I've killed."

Adam simply groaned. "Crap. If we're gonna have to talk to every person we've wronged or some bullshit, this is gonna take forever."

Torchwick glared at his ally. "Kid, for once in your life, shut up."

One of the gathered scientists simply hummed to herself as she examined the mercenary in question. "Well, his vitals all read normal, aside from the heightened heartbeat, which is normal for when someone is frightened."

Torchwick puffed at his cigar before giving a nod. "Alright, then. I'm going in."

"What?" Adam asked in surprise, Neo likewise asking the same in sign language.

"We've wasted enough time as it is." Torchwick explained. "Salem wants results, and I can get what we came for."

Adam scoffed. "Bullshit! You think a _criminal_ is a true warrior? How do you know it's not _me?"_

Torchwick simply smirked in reply. "Because you're _you."_

"And you suck." Neo signed with a smirk.

Adam growled in response before giving a sigh. "Okay... if you're so confident, why don't the _three_ of us go in together? Let the temple decide?"

"Fine." Roman declared, Neo likewise giving a shrug, before all three of them walked inside.

The first thing that Torchwick upon entering was that he was alone in a large empty chamber that was at a temperature that chilled him to the bone. "What the... Neo? Taurus? Where the hell are you?"

"Who... are... you...?"

Torchwick blinked in response to the voice that echoed through the chamber. "... uh, I'm Roman Torchwick." he declared before noticing that his surroundings were beginning to change, now looking like a small district in Atlas. "Wait a minute... is this... my home?"

"_Roman? Roman?"_

Torchwick gasped, turning around to see a young boy with red hair. "No... it can't be."

A younger version of Roman couldn't help but smile as he ran towards the house. _"Coming, mama! Coming!"_

Roman's mother, Juliet, likewise smiled in return. _"Come along! Your father will be home any minute now."_

Torchwick blinked in shock. "I can't believe this…"

It was here that the younger Roman looked over and saw Torchwick. _"Mama? Who's that?"_

Juliet simply gasped in reply. _"Roman, go inside, and hide!"_ she declared, pushing him inside and closing the door before she took out a weapon. _"Who are you?!"_

Torchwick raised his hands in a calming manner. "N-no, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I just-"

Roman's mother growled. _"What? Speak English! Who _are_ you?! We already _paid_ for protection this month!"_

Torchwick blinked in response. "What? You... you can't understand me? Mom, I-"

His mother simply held his younger self behind her. _"Stay _back!_ My husband will be home soon! He's a Huntsman in training!"_

Here, Torchwick felt a chill run down his spine. "No! Please, listen! I just-"

"_Juliet? Who is this?"_ Roman's father, Romeo, couldn't help but ask as he returned home.

Torchwick wouldn't have been able to contain the gasp that escaped his lips even if he tried. "Dad?"

Romeo could only glare as he aimed his gun cane at Torchwick. _"If you're with Klien's men, we paid the protection!"_

"_Shoot him, Romeo!"_ Juliet called out.

Torchwick held up his own cane in an attempt to defend himself. "No! No, please! _Stop!"_

Roman's Father, however, refused to listen, his finger already reaching for his weapon's trigger. _"Last warning! Get lost! Or I'll-!"_

"NO!" Roman yelled out, firing his weapon on instinct, only to gasp as his father dropped his own weapon and fell to the ground, dead. "No... no, I... I didn't _mean_ it, I-"

The younger version of Roman simply gave him a tear-filled glare. _"How...how could you?! Y-you... you hurt my Papa!"_

Torchwick shook his head in horror. "No! I... I'm sorry, I-"

Roman's Mother simply teared up giving him a death glare. _"DIE, YOU SCUM!"_ was the last thing the Gentleman Thief heard before she fired upon him.

"Ah…" Torchwick yelled out in grief and pain as he suddenly found himself back outside the temple before Neo suddenly ran up and gave him a teary-eyed hug. "Neo? You're back?"

"'Bout time." Adam called out from a different section of the courtyard.

"What did you see?" Roman couldn't help but ask.

Adam looked away from the group before giving his response. "... _nothing._ Turns out, _I'm_ a true warrior."

"Bullshit."

Adam just sighed in reply. "Yeah, yeah, fine. It was the stuff of nightmares. Looks like Salem's gonna have to wait after all."

Torchwick could only watch as Adam walked off, before looking down to see that Neo was still hugging him. "What'd _you_ see?" he asked as he gently patted her on the head.

"You... being killed by Red." the mute girl signed out.

Torchwick merely nodded even as he looked towards the retreating bull Faunus with a look of curiosity and suspicion, before shrugging. "We're not going to be making any more progress at any rate: let's just try again tomorrow."

"Looks like they're leaving for the time being," Raven declared as Adam, Roman, Neo, and the others headed back to their camp, setting down her own binoculars as she did. "Let's get moving."

"Wait, you mean go _inside_ the temple that managed to scare the pants off a bunch of hardened criminals?!" Sun couldn't help but ask.

"We don't have a choice." Blake remarked. "I know Adam, and it's only a matter of time before he starts grabbing civilians to try and get whatever's inside for him...but if _we_ have it, then he'll be forced to order more of his forces to start coming after us."

Here Mata couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow. "And that's a good thing because…?"

"Because unlike some of the folks on the island, we can actually defend ourselves," Ruby replied, "And besides, this time we'll have the aid of whatever the Doppelgangers hid here."

"Wait, what?"

"So you noticed it too, eh Rubes?" Yang said with a smile. "This 'ancient civilization' that built this place? I recognize some of the designs from when we were briefly bunking with Jasmine and Alex back at Beacon."

"What're _Doppelgangers?" _Sun asked.

"They're this _evolved species _of Grimm who can look like people." Yang explained. "We ran into a few of them when we were still students. Apparently, they thought I was part of some prophecy to save their lives or something, but it all turned out to be a sham so Barmak could get me pregnant and give birth to the _real _savior of their race."

The lieutenants, Team SWCD, and Winter all stared blankly at the blonde brawler's statement. At last, Winter broke the silence. "You've… given _birth _to a Grimm?"

"Fuck _yeah! _Holly's _awesome!" _Yang eagerly took out her scroll. "Look! Here she is with her women's boxing league!"

Sure enough, Winter saw a picture of what looked like a carbon-copy of Yang, albeit with pale skin, inky veins, pitch-black eyes, and cat ears on top of her head. The young adult was surrounded by a group of other girls who looked slightly frightened by their fellow boxer. Winter cleared her throat. "Well… that is the _last thing _I was expecting to see, today… or _ever."_

Yang sighed, wistfully, as she hugged the scroll to her heart. "Ah, they grow up so fast."

"Polu Shark is a _shark."_

"She _does _have my ears." Blake blushed. "Thank you for noticing."

"So this temple was built by sentient Grimm?" Yatsuhashi pondered. "It's some pretty impressive architecture."

"_Does_ make you wonder why they abandoned it, though," Coco remarked.

"I CAN SEE THE FUTURE!" was yelled out over the distance.

"...yeah, that would do it." Coco admitted, before turning towards the temple doors. "So, who wants to go first?"

"That's actually a good question," Ilia called out. "It's said that only a true warrior would be able to retrieve what's inside the temple, so we'll need to figure out what they mean by 'true warrior.'"

"I'll go," Winter immediately called out. "I was second only to Summer Rose herself among the Guardsmen, so this should be easy."

"...and you jinxed it," Penelope deadpanned.

Here, Winter rolled her eyes. "Well, if you're that worried, you can go ahead and tag along."

Penelope nodded. "Okay: barring any unexpected surprises, I'll be right there beside you."

"Much appreciated," Agent White declared before she found herself walking into a large chamber that seemed to have been bigger on the inside than it had been on the outside.

"Penny, are you seeing this?" Winter couldn't help but ask, only to blink when she didn't get a reply. "Penny?"

"Who...are...you...?"

Winter, having heard the voice and understanding this is a test, got her sword ready with a determined look on her face. "I'm your true warrior."

"Really, then what does that make me?"

Winter couldn't help but gasp as she saw who was rounding the corner. "Summer?"

"...and she's not alone," Maria Calavera - aka Agent Silver, aka the Grimm Reaper - called out as she walked up to stand beside Summer Rose, aka Agent Rose, giving Winter a sad smile as she does. "Been a long time, Snow Angel."

Winter couldn't help but tear up a little as she lowered her sword. "Bones? You...you're supposed to be dead…"

"She is...no thanks to you," Cinder Fall - Agent Crimson - declared as she too appeared, wearing the same outfit she'd been wearing when she first became the Meta and giving Winter a look that almost resembled respect. "Stabbing your lover in the back to gain power. I have to admit, I never thought you'd have the guts to pull that off: we might have more in common then I thought…"

Winter growled in response. "Shut up, that's... I'm not like you! I'll _never_ be like you!"

Qrow Branwen, Agent Grey, could only give a sad nod as he too appeared. "That's what I said...and we _all_ know how _that_ turned out."

Here, Winter took a few cleansing breaths. "Okay, I get it now: you're not real. _None_ of you are real. If this was simply the ghosts of my past, Qrow wouldn't show up, as he's still outside the chamber."

Trifa/Agent Blue simply gave a light scoff as she made her own appearance. "Yes, because it's absolutely _impossible_ for someone to be in two places at once, or for someone to look like someone else. By the way, did you ever find out where Dr. Merlot buried my body after stealing my armor?"

Winter could only shake her head in frustration even as Tock/Agent Yellow and Glynda Goodwich/Agent Purple made their own appearances. "This...this isn't possible: you...you can't be alive!"

Tukson/Agent Burgundy, having appeared alongside Tyrian Callows, aka Agent Black, aka The Mad Scorpion - with various other members of Project Huntsmen appearing in the background as all this was happening - could only give a bitter chuckle in reply. "Oh, Winter: who said we were?"

Winter was only able to watch in horror as every member of Project Huntsman turned to ash before her eyes. "NO!" she yelled out, before shaking her head as she tried to calm down. "Stop it, Winter: it isn't real."

Weiss scoffed as she appeared before her. "Even now, you try to deny your crimes." she declared with a hollow chuckle even as Winter looked upon her in shock. "First Maria, then Summer...I wonder how long I have to wait before _I'm_ at the wrong end of your blade?"

Winter could only give a teary-eyed shake of her head in response. "That's not...I'd never…"

"Get involved with anything that doesn't concern you? Sounds about right," Blake said with a scoff as she stood beside her teammate. "How many of my people had to suffer because you ran away from your family? ...and yes, Yang, I am very much aware of the hypocrisy of that statement."

Yang simply shrugged as she made her appearance, Ciel, Jean, and Team JNPR at her side. "Hey, I don't hold it against you: despite what Adam might think, you were _never_ a coward. When _you_ ran, it was always because you feared for someone _else's_ life." She then turned and gave Winter a sad glare. "Wonder if Frosty here can say the same…"

"Of course she can't," Ruby said with a glare, Team CFVY at her side. "What possible reason could she have had for trying to kill my mom?!"

Winter, feeling as if her heart had stopped for a brief moment, merely shook her head in response even as Svetlana and Mikhail joined the group. "I...I'm sorry: I didn't think…"

Penelope - currently with her own body that looked similar to what Penny had used during the Vytal Festival - could only shake her head in response as she too made an appearance. "That's right: you didn't think...at all. You just did what you've always done: struck down anyone who got in your way. Jacques would be proud." she declared, adding a bitter chuckle to the end as she does.

Despite her growing fear, Winter couldn't help but let out a growl of defiance. "Don't you _ever_ bring him up!"

Weiss shrugged. "Why not? From where I stand, he's the only _real_ family you have, and _this_ is what happens to everyone else!"

Winter could only watch in horror as everyone burns alive. "No, STOP!" she yelled out as she grabbed at her sister's ashes as she tears up, not even noticing when she's ejected from the chamber. "...please...not again…"

Penelope - the _real_ Penelope - could only blink in response. "Winter?" The Maiden fragment almost let a flinch as Winter looked up at her with an absolutely _broken_ expression, feeling a slight chill as she watches Winter just _barely_ calming down as she takes in the view of everyone else, even reaching out and touching a couple of them to make sure that they were real.

Ruby, having noticed as well, quickly walks over and gives Winter an embrace. "Hey, it's okay…"

Weiss quickly joined in the hug alongside Yang, the spectral Penelope, and eventually Blake, raising an eyebrow in concern as she did. "Wha...what _happened_ in there?"

"I...I saw the members of Project Guardsman..." Winter admitted with a sniffle.

Penelope simply nodded in response. "Was there a fight? All I got was static, so I can't be sure…"

Winter just shook her head even as she tightened the embrace. "I don't want to talk about it right now…"

"Okay… anyone _else _want to try?" Ren asked no one in particular.

"Just sit back and _watch." _Yang boasted as she readied Ember Celica and Dragon Fang. "Because _I _am a true… _motherfucking warrior! Ha HAAA!" _Yang jumped into the gateway, only to be immediately sent back out. "WHAAAAAAAAA!"

"Yang!" Ruby rushed to help her sister back onto her feet. "What happened?"

Winter chuckled. "I guess you are _not _a true warrior."

Hours went by as everyone tried, one-by-one, to enter the temple. But they were all met with the same results; seeing their greatest fears laid bare in front of them. "This is ridiculous!" Winter called out. "How have none of us gotten in yet?!"

Penelope couldn't help but sigh. "It would help if the requirements weren't so cryptic. 'True warrior, pure of heart, mental clarity?' What does that even mean?"

"Probably the opposite of a false warrior. Duh."

Here, Weiss couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Ruby, not now."

"I'm just saying we can eliminate that as an option. The false warrior." Ruby said with a shrug.

"RUBY!"

The hooded huntress couldn't help but flinch as everyone yelled out in frustration. "Fine! Geez! I'm gonna look for the bathroom."

Weiss could only groan in reply. "Ugh! What do I even see in that empty headed dolt?!"

Penelope blinked upon hearing that statement. "Wait... _empty _headed."

Everyone looked at each other as the idea sank in. Soon enough, Ruby found herself being shoved into the temple. "Hey! This isn't the bathroom!" she called out.

"Who...are...you...?"

Ruby blinked as the voice reverberated through the area. "Uh... I'm Ruby Rose."

"Hmmm... you are not like the others." the voice called out. "Your heart... lacks greed. Devoid of all selfish desires."

"I guess," Ruby said with a shrug. "I just want to help my friends."

"Your mind... is without doubt." the source of the voice continued. "And your strength... I have decreased the temperature by tenfold since you arrived. Yet you seem unaffected."

"What's a tenfold?"

The voice gasped in shock. "You... haven't noticed?"

Ruby blinked in response. "What? What a 'tenfold' is? I dunno, you brought it up."

A spector quickly appeared before her, giving a light chuckle as she did. "Then it seems that you are indeed a true warrior."

"Neat." the hooded huntress remarked. "But if you don't mind my asking, who are you?"

"I am the prize which this temple has been safeguarding for all this time." the entity declared. "I am the Winter Maiden."

**To Be Continued**


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 48**

After three hours of waiting, Weiss and the others were beginning to worry about Ruby. Suddenly, the temple began to glow with a radiant blue energy - as did Dragon Fang's blade. The huntresses and huntsmen stared in awe at the startling display just as Ruby finally reappeared. "Hi, guys!" She waved.

"RUBY!" Yang rushed to hug her sister. "You've been gone for _hours! _What _happened _in there?"

"Well, I went to look for the bathroom, but then I walked into this weird place and I met a magic lady who taught me the meaning of life, death, the universe, and everything!"

"Wait, _magic lady?" _Penelope asked.

"Greetings." A blue spirit suddenly appeared, startling the others. "Apologies, but… is there someone _else _I can speak with? Preferably, one with a broader vocabulary?"

Penelope gasped as she took in the spirit before her. "It...it can't be. Sis?"

"Sis!?" Nearly everyone else yelled out.

The blue spirit meanwhile blinked as she looked upon Penelope before giving a smile. "Hello, sister. It's been a long time. I almost didn't recognize you."

Penelope merely gave a melancholy chuckle in reply. "Understandable. I merely carry the memory of the girl you once knew."

"Sorry to interrupt, but I believe I speak for everyone when I say I'm a little confused." Weiss declared before looking to the blue spirit. "Who... what _are_ you?"

"She's my sister," Penelope declared with an awestruck smile. "She's a Maiden like me. Specifically, the _Winter_ Maiden."

"Correct." The newly discovered Winter Maiden remarked. "Unfortunately, I am but a shell of my former self. You see, sister, when our mother killed our father in our first lives, I did my best to hide us all away. But one by one, I failed you all. Luckily, I stumbled upon a unique species of Grimm who inhabited this island long before the faunus and humans who currently occupy it. I learned that they were capable of free will and independent thought, and thus thought that they were worthy of our gifts. I tethered my soul to this island and did what I could to guide these Grimm towards a more civilized era, but it was sadly not meant to be. A party of resentful humans invaded this island, slaughtered all but a handful of the Grimm, and kept enslaved faunus here for centuries before the faunus uprisings. I kept myself hidden from the world, in an attempt to prevent my power from falling into the wrong hands. But now that you have returned, sister, I suppose it was finally time to reveal myself."

Penelope, meanwhile, couldn't help but cry tears of joy. "I... I don't know what to say. I was afraid I was alone. But you've been _here,_ this whole time! You sacrificed your own freedom and happiness to protect the world and your loved ones! Even from your own power!"

"I know!" Ruby cried out in agreement. "And that's why I decided to name her... _Elsa!"_

Winter could only blink as everyone else gave the hooded huntress an awkward stare. "Elsa?"

Ruby smiled. "Yes! Elsa!"

"_Elsa?!"_ Weiss repeated with a frown. "Ruby, I don't think that's her _real_ name."

"Perhaps not," the newly christened "Elsa" said with a shrug. "But it's been so long since anyone has used it that I've honestly forgotten it, so for now, 'Elsa' will have to do. Besides, I am quite fond of the name."

Penelope simply nodded. "... my sister, Elsa... the Winter Maiden."

"Wait, back up," Yang called out. "You mean to tell us that the one who was subjecting us to our worst fears was the Winter Maiden?!"

Elsa then blinked as she took in the visage of Yang, giving a teasing smirk as she did. "Be lucky you have found one of my keys, or you would not have experienced even that."

"Polo Shark is a shark?"

"The big guy is right." Deadeyes called out. "None of us have any sort of key on us."

It was here that Yang's eyes widened in shock, looking down on the blade in her hand as she did. "Unless…"

"Indeed," Elsa said with a nod. "Only those who are in proximity to the sacred key may enter my temple at all."

"Wait, if that's true, then how did…?" Blake began to ask before facepalming. "Because _we_ were in close proximity to Adam and Torchwick while they were trying to enter the temple."

"Guess it's lucky that none of them were true warriors then." Jaune called out, only to flinch as everyone leveled a glare at him. "Right: not the time."

"The key was given to the Doppelgangers when they were forced to leave Menagerie." Elsa went on. "Yang Xiao Long, as you were the one to wear it, it has now been bonded to your aura, and as such will only function for you until after your death."

"But why _test _us if Yang already has the gauntlet - uh - _key?" _Octavia asked, curiously.

"Because I sensed that the Key of Menagerie has yet to be discovered." Elsa explained. "As such, I feared you may have been descendants of the humans who nearly wiped out the Doppelgangers in the first place, especially when those who came before you did not respond to my greetings in the ancient language I had taught them."

"Wait, back up; there's _another _key?!" Yang exclaimed.

"Of course! In case you lock one in your car!" Ruby gasped in shock. "Penny! Your sister is a _genius! _She's thought of _everything!"_

Weiss rolled her eyes at Ruby's remark. "Okay. Ms. Winter Maiden-"

"_Elsa!"_

"I _refuse _to call you that." Weiss growled out before clearing her throat. "Anyways, as much as I enjoy learning about the history of this place, it's only a matter of time before Adam and Torchwick get back, so maybe we should take this discussion elsewhere."

Elsa simply nodded in return. "That's fair."

After the group had made camp at a nearby research facility, Elsa turned to Penelope with a curious expression. "So, sister, not that it isn't great to see you again, but was there any particular reason that your friends sought out the Temple of Isolation?"

"The Temple of Isolation?" Winter asked, before blinking. "Oh, wait, let me guess: it's named that because it was built to keep you isolated from the rest of the world."

"Correct," Elsa remarked. "As I mentioned before, I had built it to keep my power from falling into the wrong hands."

"Well to answer your earlier question, it has to do with those who tried entering your temple before we made our own attempts." Penelope declared. "We have reason to believe that they were seeking your power to aid in killing countless people here on Menagerie, something which we had to prevent them from doing. So far, we've had some luck in disrupting their plans, but...well, I hate to ask you this after having just reunited with you, but would you…?"

"Of course sister," Elsa said with a smile, already having an idea of what the Maiden fragment was about to ask. "It has always been my duty to watch over the residents of this island, so it'd be an honor to lead you and your friends to some of my other temples to help you end this conflict."

"Much appreciated," Saber remarked, before blinking upon realizing what the Winter Maiden had said. "Wait, _other_ temples?"

"Indeed," the Winter Maiden declared. "I wouldn't be much of a guardian if the Temple of Isolation was the _only_ resource at my disposal. In fact, I happen to know a temple on the east side of Menagerie that would be _perfect_ for our purposes."

"The _east _side of Menagerie?" Ilia gasped. "That's where the _Rebellion _is stationed!"

"That temple is the Temple of _Arms." _Elsa elaborated. "Activating that temple will grant you access to a cache of highly advanced weaponry unlike _any _you have seen before."

"And you said that's just _one _of the hidden temples on this island?" Weiss asked.

"Correct." Elsa nodded.

The group shared an eager glance before Winter chuckled. "Well, not to sound _greedy, _but…"

"What _else _do you have to offer, sister?" Penelope finished.

"Hmm…" Elsa rubbed her chin in thought. "Well, there is the Temple of _Bountiful Harvests. Weather Manipulation. Interior Decorating. Procreation. Communication-"_

"Whoa, whoa! Stop!" Penelope interrupted. "What was that last one?"

"Communication." Elsa repeated. "Activating this temple will allow you to send a message to virtually _any _communication deviceacross the world of Remnant."

"So we can use it to call for _help!" _Weiss surmised.

"And what was the one _before _that?" Yang asked, pushing past her friend.

"_Procreation." _Elsa began, again. "Activating this temple will emit a high-frequency signal that will send every sentient being on Menagerie into a _ravenous sexual frenzy _with the intent to increase a dangerously dwindling population."

"We… _won't _be needing that one." Winter declared.

"Well, let's not rule anything _out." _The blonde brawler suggested, offering her wife a sly wink.

Blake blushed in response. "Maybe we should focus on dealing with Adam and company and _then_ decide if we'll be needing that particular temple."

"That's fair, I suppose," Yang said by way of reply.

"Wait, there is something you all should know." Elsa warned. "There is _one _temple you must be wary of. The Temple of the Purge."

"Well, _that _doesn't sound ominous at all." Yang groaned, sarcastically.

"Mother always used to tease that I was most similar to father when it came to pessimism." Elsa sighed. "I created the Purge as a last resort in the event that the Doppelgangers ever fell from grace, or if any other unworthy beings gain access to my gifts."

"So what does this… _Purge _do, exactly?" Ruby asked.

"If the wielder of one of my keys sees fit, they may activate the Temple of the Purge… and _cleanse _Menagerie."

Blake gulped, nervously. "And by _'cleanse'… _you mean..?"

Elsa could only sigh as she looked down in shame. "All sentient life on Menagerie outside the Temple of the Purge - be they Doppelganger, Faunus, or human - will be _destroyed."_

"...not just in Menagerie."

Ruby looked to Penelope - who was showcasing a rather grim expression - with an equally worried expression. "Wha...what do you mean by that Penny?"

"Remember how - during that whole time travel debacle - Professor Oyzmandias said that Salem viewed the Four Seasonal Maidens as being the centerpiece to what she perceived as her ultimate victory?" Penelope asked the hooded huntress, a slight tremble in her voice. "I think I just realized what he meant by that. What is the one thing that Salem wants above all else?"

"Revenge on the Gods of Light and Darkness for supposedly taking her husband, Ozma, away from her." Yang readily replied.

Penelope simply nodded. "Right, and what do those two _both_ consider to be their greatest achievement?"

"The creation of mankind," Ciel said with a shrug, only to pale as she realized where the Maiden fragment was going with this. "Fils de pute! Je ne peux pas croire qu'elle irait faire ça! (Son of a bitch! I can't believe that she'd just go and do that!)"

"I don't _need_ to speak French to know that Ciel is _just_ as disturbed by where you seem to be leading us as the rest of us." Jaune said with a gulp. "You mean to tell us that Salem intends to wipe out all life on Remnant!? She can't just go and do that!"

"She can with the power of the Four Seasonal Maidens assisting her," Penelope said with a frown. "And it just so happens that, even with Ozpin's spell, she has just enough of the Maiden's influence right here on the island to pull it off."

"That's not possible," Raven declared. "Cinder is dead, and I don't have the Spring Maiden's powers anymore."

"And yet you still were the Spring Maiden," Penelope remarked. "Something like that doesn't just go away: it leaves a marker on the person's soul, one which Salem could potentially draw upon for her purposes."

"That still doesn't explain how she intends to have Fall Maiden present if Cinder is dead." Ruby couldn't help but point out.

"I'm afraid that _you_ are the answer to that, Ruby," Penelope declared. "Now that I've reunited with my sister, I'm able to properly sense that you have a similar marker of a Maiden on your soul that your Aunt does, meaning that _you_ were the last person of Cinder's mind when she died. My guess is that her last thoughts were of how she blamed you for everything that had happened to her up until that point, thus the marker of the Maiden was transferred over to _your_ soul."

"So wait, you mean to tell us that Salem has everything she needs to execute her plan right here in Menagerie?!" Weiss couldn't help but ask.

"This wasn't a war," Yang growled out. "It was _bait._ Salem _knew_ that we wouldn't be able to resist coming here to deal with Barmak, and that once we had learned about the conflict, that we wouldn't be able to resist doing whatever we could to put a stop to the war, up to and including freeing the Winter Maiden."

"Got to give Salem credit: she's a master strategist," Jaune begrudgingly admitted. "But we can't just leave, right? If we do, there's nothing stopping them from killing all the people of Menagerie."

"We're not going to leave," Blake assured him, "but we'll have to be extra careful as we move forward. There's no telling of what else Salem and her allies have up their sleeves."

Penelope nodded. "Indeed, but one thing's for certain: no matter what happens to us, we can't let Salem, Adam, or Roman get access to the Temple of the Purge."

"Agreed." everyone else declared.

"Still we have a problem," Winter felt the need to point out. "Adam and Roman _both_ have an insider connection in this war: Taurus with the people of Menagerie, and Roman with Lionheart and the people of the Federation. So long as they both are free, they can keep this war going as long as they want."

Yatsuhasi just groaned. "Great. What _else_ can go wrong?"

As if to answer his question, Qrow's scroll went off. "Little busy here, Leo." Agent Grey declared with a sigh, having read the caller ID. "Though so long as you're calling, I should let you know that my team and I have been thinking that this war has gone on long enough."

"I couldn't agree more, Agent Grey."

Velvet gasped upon hearing that voice. "Ghira?! Adam told us he was holding you captive!"

"Adam _was _holding me captive," Ghira remarked with an bitter chuckle, "but only because, as much as I despise him, he was the only one who I knew was strong enough to do so after I heard that the Federation were in the same area as my daughter-in-law and the infamous Loki. I knew that running into rescue Miss Xiao Long and her team like I wanted to would be a suicide mission, as Menagerie would quickly fall into disarray without their leader."

"So wait, you asked to be held captive so you wouldn't go charging in like Leroy Jenkins?!" Nora called out. "...that's fair, I suppose." She then blinked. "Wait, how do you have General Lionheart's scroll?"

"Simple: I managed to snatch it up shortly after I heard that he had killed my daughter and daughter-in-law and plans to do the same to you as soon as you get back," Ghira said with a growl. "Adam might be an asshole, but he wouldn't lie about something like _this._ I respect your team's desire to find a peaceful solution to this conflict, and I'm not a fan of violence, but for the crimes Leonardo has committed, I have no choice but to bare my fangs."

Here, Raven felt her eyes widen in terror, grabbing the scroll from her brother. "WAIT! That's not what happened! Yang and Blake are right here... and he's already hung up." she called out, letting out a groan at the end. "Dammit! We've been _tricked! _We've been _backstabbed! _And we've quite possibly been _bamboozled!"_

"...and _this_ is why you never ask whether anything else can go wrong." Ruby deadpanned, glaring at Yatsuhashi as she did.

"Sorry," he called out, a sheepish grin.

"Great, just great." Weiss groaned. "Ghira and General Lionheart are on a collision course with each other due to the lies Roman and Adam have been spreading, and it's not like Taraus and Torchwick are going to to tell Menagerie and the Federation what they've really been up to."

Here, Jaune gasped. "That's it! That's how we put an end to this war! We get Roman and Adam to reveal their deception to Menagerie and the Federation!"

Pyrrha frowned. "Jaune, I love you, but it can't be that simple."

Winter smirked in response. "Actually, I think it just might be. While I was undercover, I discovered that every scroll on Menagerie is linked by a series of radio towers. We just need to upload a message into one of those radio towers, and everyone will know what Roman and Taraus have been up to. Of course, it would probably be more effective if they hear Roman and Taurus confessing of their own free will."

Blake nodded. "Which means we'll need to send someone after them to capture them."

"I'll go after Adam." Yang immediately called out. "I still owe him a hit or two from our disastrous training session back when we thought he was Rojo Toro, and beside, he hurt my wife. I won't just let him get away with that."

"Then I guess I'll go after Roman then," Qrow said with a nod. "Aside from how he hurt my nieces, I still owe a few from when he humiliated me a few years back."

"I'm coming with you," Raven declared. "Roman knew about your history with Project Huntsman, so he might try to use that info to mess with your head...but he doesn't know a _thing_ about _me._ Besides, Yang and Ruby are _my_ family too."

Blake looked to her wife as Qrow reluctantly nodded in agreement. "In that case, I should probably come with you to deal with Adam: I'll have to face him at some point, after all. Besides, I owe him a few hits for when he took your arm."

"And we'll be right behind you with the lieutenants!" Ruby promised. "That way, we can ambush him while you distract him!"

"No, Ruby, you're with _us." _Qrow objected. "Raven and I could use your expertise in dealing with Roman. Team SWCD can cover Yang and Blake."

"And I'm going with them." Svetlana added.

"_We're _going with them." Mikhail corrected.

"What about the rest of us?" Mata couldn't help but ask. "I agree that Adam and Roman need to be dealt with, but for Agent White's plan to work, we'd need to send _someone_ to the radio towers, right?"

"Funny you should mention that, actually," Winter said with a smile. "It just so happens that the rest of us will be heading straight for the radio towers themselves, and taking out any jamming towers we find along the way."

"Jamming towers?" Sun couldn't help but ask.

Winter simply smiled in reply. "I spotted some decommissioned towers that were used for jamming communications during the Great War. Odds are good that if Adam and Roman catch on to what we're doing that they'll reactivate them so as to keep us from getting the message out."

"In that case, take these," Jaune declared, handing out the helmet cameras from when they were doing the training videos a while back. "With these, we should still be able to communicate with each other if those jammers go up, given that they operate on a different frequency."

"Alright, then. We all have our assignments." Winter announced. "Let's take these bastards down."

"Good luck, Prism Shard," Blake called out to her childhood friend.

"You too, Nightshade," Ilia declared with a nod.

"Note to self: come up with my own codename after this," Yang mumbled to herself.

Sometime later, the former Spring Maiden stroked her chin in thought as she got out of the Warthog. "Now, if _I_ was a resident of Menagerie and I was wanting to set up a radio tower, where would I…?" she began to ask only to cut herself off as she spotted one right over the next hill. "Huh, well _this_ is almost too easy."

No sooner had she said this, however, a RPG started to fly in her direction, just _barely_ managing to dodge as it did. _"Why_ did I say that?" Raven couldn't help but groan out as Roman approached from the direction of the radio tower on a Mongoose.

"That was a freebee, Raven," Roman Torchwick declared with a grin. "I just wanted you to know exactly who it was who would kill you if you tried anything funny."

"You're as arrogant as my niece described you," Raven remarked, remembering her talks with Ruby, pulling out her sword as she did. "After all, I'm the Branwen chieftess, the former Spring Maiden, and was able to match Cinder Fall, aka Agent Crimson, aka The Meta in combat. Do you _really_ think I'll go down easily?"

"Hmm, maybe, maybe not… but I brought a little _insurance,_ just to be on the safe side." Roman said with a shrug before pulling out his scroll and typing in a command.

Just as she had started wondering what Torchwick was up to, Raven dropped her sword as she fell to her knees, clutching her chest as she did. Then, just as quickly as it happened, the pain disappeared. "What the hell was _that?" _She muttered.

Roman held up his scroll, revealing its hacking capabilities. "I can control your pacemaker, _remotely." _He threatened. "You wanna find out what _two hundred and fifty beats per minute _feels like?"

"You wouldn't _dare." _Raven growled.

Luckily, Roman didn't have a chance to follow up on his threat as Qrow snuck up behind him and sliced the scroll in half with his scythe. "Nobody threatens my sister but _me!" _He exclaimed.

"You _are_ Red's Uncle," The Gentleman Thief said with a snarl. "Always butting in when you are the least welcome."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Qrow sarcastically declared, before aiming his gun at Roman. "Now stand aside, Torchwick: there's no way you can beat my sister and I all by yourself."

"Who said I was by myself?" Roman remarked, snapping his fingers as he did.

Raven groaned as several armed mercenaries popped up soon afterwards. "Qrow…"

"I know, I know: I jinxed it," Agent Grey said with a sigh, before nodding to her sister. "I go high, you go low?"

Raven merely smirked in reply. "Just like the good old days."

Meanwhile, General Lionheart was pacing around the capital, wondering how things had gotten this chaotic. Just as he was about to see if he could borrow someone else's scroll - having somehow managed to misplace his own - to see if he could get an update on his away team, he heard gunfire in the hallway, followed by the door to his office being forced open. "You…" he gasped out as two individuals he was _very_ familiar with entered the room.

"Hello, General," Ghira called out to the lion Faunus as he and his wife closed and locked the door behind them before tossing the Federation's current leader a scroll. "I believe you dropped this. Don't bother contacting your men in the hallway, though: they aren't dead yet, but they're in no condition to fight. Now, for the sake of my daughter, I'm going to give you one chance: use that scroll to contact the rest of your men and tell them to stand down."

"You want us to surrender?!" Leonardo Lionheart growled out even as he put his scroll away, feeling his rage overshadow his usual cowardice as he did. _"Your people_ were the ones to attack _us!"_

"We _both_ know that's not true," Kali declared as she moved to stand beside her husband. "And even if it was, that doesn't excuse any of the crimes your men have committed against us in supposed retaliation. I would think that _you_ of all people would understand why the White Fang was formed and incidentally why it's become as violent as it has in recent years."

"Believe me: I understand it all too well," General Lionheart said with a muted glare even as he got into a fighting stance. "Which is why I take no pleasure in this...but even still, I do what I must for the sake of those I've sworn to protect."

"As do we," Ghira Belladonna declared as he and his wife likewise got into a fighting stance.

At the same time, Team SWCD escorted Yang, Blake, Svetlana, and Mikhail towards Adam's stronghold. "Bloody hell." Snapper cursed. "Looks like Taurus is locked up tighter than a nun's knickers."

"Then we draw him out." Svetlana suggested as she launched herself from the mongoose towards the guards.

"Svetlana, wait!" Mikhail shouted, chasing after her. As he feared, his wife's aura was still too low as she was soon knocked out by a dust blast to the head. Luckily, their friends were quick to give suppressing fire as the Rushland man hefted his wife over his shoulder and retreated.

"You guys hang back." Deadeyes ordered. _"We'll _draw Tarus out for you."

"Are you sure?" Blake asked.

"Polu Shark is a shark." Polu insisted, giving his friend one last hug.

"Lock and _load, _Team SWCD." Hayley smiled as she cocked her weapon. "Today's the day… we _earn _our name."

Just as she said that, the mercenaries charged, prompting Team SWCD to open fire. Meanwhile, Adam Taurus viewed everything his pawns experienced through their helmet cameras from the safety of a tank. Blood splattered everywhere as Dust, bullets, hammers, and boomerangs tore through his minions.

Adam flinched, nervously, as he watched his mercenaries get eaten alive by the viscous shark Faunus. Polu glared at the other enemies, as if he knew that he was glaring at Blake's abusive ex through their helmets' video cameras. "Polu Shark… IS A _SHAAAAAAAAAAARK!"_

The militia troops screamed in horror as the enraged Faunus discarded his minigun, entirely, and began ripping their limbs off and beating them to death with his bare hands. Hayley laughed as she literally knocked her enemies' heads off with her mallet. Deadeyes and Snapper kept the enemy at a distance with their own weapons.

"That's it! I'll deal with this _myself!" _Adam decided, grabbing his katana. The arrogant Faunus extremist pushed his own men aside and aimed the tip of his blade at SWCD.

"Polu Shark is a Shark!"

"Yeah, I'm not exactly pleased to see you either, Bloody Water." Adam declared with a snarl.

"Wait, your codename in the White Fang was Bloody Water?" Hayley couldn't help but ask. "...not going to lie, it actually suits you."

"Hayley, not the time!" Deadeyes barked out. "...but yeah, that _is_ a pretty sweet codename."

"Heh, Polo Shark is a shark." Polu Shark said with a sheepish blush before going back to glaring at his ex-comrade.

Back on the other side of the fight, Ruby and Team CFVY were doing their best to draw Roman's men away from the radio tower.

"Hey, suck it, black!" Coco called out to one of the men guarding the radio tower before running off after drawing the guard's attention...only to run back with a sheepish expression. "Just to be clear, that wasn't meant to be racist."

As they'd hoped, the guards left their post, giving Ruby the opportunity to slip inside. She set Rose Thorn against the wall and plugged the hacking device into the computer. "Hey! Get away from there!" Another guard shouted.

Ruby lifted her arms into the air, but smiled as she was certain her assailant was unaware of her secret weapon. "It's okay, I'm unarmed." She smiled, coyly.

"Keep your hands where I can see 'em!" He ordered.

"And what about _him?" _Ruby asked.

"Who…?" The guard scanned the area for anyone else, but could see anyone.

"Freckles?"

"Acknowledged." Freckles' voice came from Rose Thorn just as it levitated in the air and fired a laser at the guard.

"Good boy!" Ruby cheered.

Back with Team SWCD, Adam's men found themselves being cut down by their enemies' gunfire.

"Polu Shark is a _shark! _Polu Shark is a _shark! _Polu Shark is a _shark!"_

"Yeah, yeah! And Snapper Wood is a _wood, _ya _fuck knuckle!" _Snapper groaned as their enemies closed in on their position.

"Guys…" Hayley grunted, clutching her wounded stomach. "I just wanna say… you're the best friends I've ever had."

"That's pretty _fucked up, _Cotton." Deadeyes remarked as he unloaded his last round at the mercenaries. "But… I guess I feel the same way."

Snapper sighed as he watched four mercenaries load RPGs aimed at them. "I suppose there's _worse _company to die with. How 'bout it, Polu? Got any last words?"

Polu brought the trio into a tight hug and closed his eyes. "It's been an _honor _to fight by your side." He told them.

While Hayley and Deadeyes were speechless, Snapper managed to convey their mutual feelings just before the missiles hit. "ARE YOU _SHITTING _ME?!"

The explosion that followed shook the foundation of the Temple of Isolation.

"NO!" Blake called out in anguish as the temple went up in flames, before turning to level a glare at her ex-boyfriend. "You'll pay for that."

"Please," Adam said with a scoff. "You couldn't beat me before, and this time won't be any different. Don't worry though: I'll be sure to send that despicable shark some company after I...for gods' sake: what is that music!?"

"Yeehaw!" Yang called out as she jumped out off the Mongoose she had "borrowed" from one of Adam's men and driven over a cliff overlooking the now-destroyed temple just before it slammed into the rogue Faunus. "I've been wanting to do that since I first learned about you, asshole!"

"The feeling is mutual," Adam growled out. "After all, you touched my girl."

"And that's part of the reason I broke up with you, Adam," Blake declared. "You saw me as something to be _owned._ Meanwhile, Yang sees me as something to protect and treasure."

"Nice sentiment," her ex sarcastically remarked. "I'll be sure to have it placed on your tombstone."

"Wow, the old 'if I can't have you, no one can' bit," Yang deadpanned. "Really hitting all the marks of a psychotic ex-boyfriend."

"Say what you will, but you still won't beat us. Heck, once the Feds and rebels kill each other, I don't know what I'm going to do! I mean, we've been playing these guys for years!" Adam said with an arrogant grin.

"One thing I still don't get though," Yang declared. "How did you convince Ghira and Kali to go to the capital?"

"The Belladonna's?" Adam asked with a dark chuckle. "Oh, they were easy! I just made up some story about how you all died heroically! You should have seen it:, I gave the performance of a fucking _lifetime!_ Got all _broken up,_ threw in a few _dramatic pauses,_ and they just ate it up. I mean, it was _Oscar-winning_ material!"

"You're _sick, _Adam…" Yang muttered. "You're _arrogant, sadistic, cruel… _and we _will _stop you."

Adam chuckled as he circled Yang like a wounded animal. "You still don't get it, do you? The entire reason you and your friends were allowed to live this long is because you're all _losers!_ Salem was confident that you'd do more damage to these people than they could ever do to _themselves. _I mean, a bunch of _idiots _in charge of an _army?_ Come on, it was a recipe for _disaster!_ Roman, Neo, and I figured we'd let you rack up the casualty count then kill you after a few weeks. Oh, but then you did something special; you gave these people _hope! _And with that came a new level of motivation. To fight _harder;_ to die _faster! _All with the belief that their sacrifice might actually _mean _something. But you know what? It all means _nothing!_ At the end of the day, if I'm stronger than you and if I'm faster than you, then I can _kill_ you! And that's better than anything money can buy, and certainly better then any of the morals _you_ and _Blake_ cling so pathetically to!"

Yang coughed up a laugh, even as she faced the pistol aimed at her face. "I don't know man. I think I'd rather be rich and/or a decent person than a _fucking nutjob._ What do you think, Penny?"

Penelope suddenly appeared next to Yang, giving a happy shrug. "Yeah, this guy's got _no idea_ what he's talking about."

Adam blinked in shock. "What the...what the fuck is _this?"_

Yang gave a seemingly nonchalant shrug. "Oh this is Penelope. She's a fragmented portion of the Summer Maiden. She's not as powerful as a _full Maiden, _but she helps me run my equipment…"

"_What _equipment?"

The blonde brawler gave a taunting grin. "… my _helmet camera."_

Penelope smiled even as she pulled the footage she recorded up on the screen in front of the group. "I can see why Blake broke up with you Adam: that ego of yours is _not_ attractive… though it _did_ help us to bust you. Speaking of which, your curtain call should be occurring right about…"

On the other side of the island, Winter and the lieutenants aimed their weapons at the jamming tower just as Penny's signal came through. "Alright boys and girls!" She smiled. "Let's bring it down!"

Back with Yang and company, Penny's smile grew wider. " …NOW! I'll be right back, Yang." With that, the Summer Maiden took the recording into Menagerie's ethernet, spreading it all throughout the island. And just in time, as it reached the capitol where Lionheart and the Belladonna's were about to wipe each other out. The three leaders paused as Adam and Yang's conversation played over the screens.

"_Say what you will, but you still won't beat us. Heck, once the Feds and rebels kill each other, I don't know what I'm going to do! I mean, we've been playing these guys for years!"_

"_How did you convince Ghira and Kali to go to the capital?"_

"_The Belladonna's? Oh, they were _easy!_ I just made up some story about how you all died heroically! You should have seen it, I gave the performance of a fucking _lifetime! _Got all _broken up, _threw in a few _dramatic pauses, _and they just ate it up. I mean, it was _Oscar-winning _material!"_

Ghira growled, bitterly. "You son of a bitch!"

"_The entire reason you and your friends were allowed to live this long is because you're all _losers!_ Roman, Neo, and I figured we'd let you rack up the casualty count then kill you after a few weeks."_

Lionheart gasped in disbelief. "Roman? Neo?"

Salem's mercenaries quietly snuck away as the video repeated on every screen across Menagerie. One of them reached for his radio and contacted Torchwick. "Roman… it's _over. _Everyone _knows. _They're not fighting anymore. What do we do?"

In stark contrast to his usual smug attitude, Roman was at a complete loss for words. He backed away from Agent Grey before reaching for his own radio, trying to keep the hesitation out of his voice and not quite succeeding "…follow...protocol." He ordered as he ran away from Qrow to find a safe place to contact Adam.

Meanwhile, back in the capital, two separate generals, having absorbed _everything_ that they had heard, looked to each other before nodding and taking out their scrolls, knowing what they had to do.

"This is General Ghira Belladonna ordering an _immediate ceasefire!"_

"General Lionheart to all Federation soldiers, _stand down _at once!"

Kali smiled as her husband and their fellow Faunus put a stop to this war, before taking out her own scroll and giving a simple command. "This is Lieutenant General Kali Belladonna to any forces available in the Delta Quadrant: in case you didn't notice, my daughter and daughter-in-law are currently fighting for their lives against one Toro Rojo, aka Adam Taurus. I know my husband has just ordered a ceasefire, but I'm certain he won't mind if we bared our fangs for one more target."

Meanwhile, Adam simply snarled as he sheathed his sword, having heard the sound of soldiers approaching and knowing that he couldn't take them all on in his current condition. "This isn't over. You might have stopped the war, but now that the Winter Maiden has been freed, Salem is already on her way here to execute the next part of the plan. You and your pathetic friends have already lost: you just don't realize it yet." With that, he slammed down a smoke bomb to aid in a hasty retreat just as several soldiers came rushing in to give Yang and Blake their support.

"Are you and your companion alright, Miss Xiao Long?" one of the soldiers asked as he helped her to her feet.

"Yeah, we're fine," Yang declared. "But Adam was right about one thing: this isn't over: not by a long shot."

A few hours later, the groups reconvened at the Federation's capitol, where the three generals were discussing their next move. "There are several outposts stationed around this city." Lionheart suggested. "It should be more than enough for your forces to recuperate."

"Actually, I was thinking of moving our forces into the _capitol." _Ghira declared.

"Are you _kidding?!" _Lionheart spluttered. "We're not going to let the people who have been trying to kill us _move in!"_

"My people _deserve _a roof over their heads after what they've been through!" Ghira snarled.

"Enough!" Svetlana shouted, unintentionally pulling a few of her stitches. "Ah!"

"Svetlana!" Mikhail scolded as he forced his wife to sit down before continuing her stitches.

Svetlana sighed. "Look, we just showed you guys that you've been _conned." _She went on. "And now, we finally have the entire island working _together _for the first time in a while. So how about we start with a little _cooperation _and _compromise?"_

Lionheart sighed, tiredly. "Very well. I'll… see what I can do about setting up room and board for your troops, General Belladonna."

"Thank you." Ghira nodded, calmly.

As the two generals walked away, Svetlana glared at her husband. "If you hadn't pulled me away from that fight, I might have been able to _save _Team SWCD."

"Or you would have been _worse off _than a drained aura and a few stitches!" Mikhail snapped. "We finally _found _each other again and got rid of _Loki _once and for all. And as I recall, it was _you _who decided we were ready to have children. I _love _you, Svetlana, but your recklessness makes it _difficult."_

"I love you, _too, _Mikhail." Svetlana replied, ignoring the sharp pain of the surgical needle running through her skin. "But I _promised _myself that I would save as many people as I could when I met Ironwood. Just as I promised myself that I would find my father's killer and bring him to justice!"

Mikhail sighed as he finished tending her wounds. He set the needle and thread aside and looked at her, sadly. _"I _made a promise of my own when I married you… to your _father."_

Svetlana's expression softened and hugged Mikhail. "I _know, _my love. I'm sorry I make you worry. I promise, you _won't _lose me again… but once I'm healed, properly, I intend to see this mission through to the end."

Mikhail sighed once more before he kissed her cheek. "Fine." He conceded. "In that case, I'll go see if Octavia has any iodine for those _shallow cuts." _Just before he exited the door, he gave his wife an annoyed glance. _"Burning, stinging _iodine."

Svetlana chuckled to herself as he left.

Meanwhile, Melanie was off standing by the Federation's airpad, watching as some reinforcements straight from Atlas had arrived. That said, the daughter of Lil' Miss Malachite wasn't paying attention to that, nor did she think about how the Council had apparently gotten an inkling of what Roman and Adam were up to and had decided to step in. No, all she cared about was one girl in particular who had stepped off of one of the airships, covered in scars but otherwise looking perfectly healthy. "Militia," she managed to whisper out, a tear of joy leaking from her eye.

"Hey, sis, did you miss me?" Militia called out as she ran up to hug her sister.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Melanie admitted as she returned the hug. "I still can't believe that Lionheart kept his promise."

"Yeah, but it's not all good news." Militia admitted. "Turns out that the higher ups decided to send someone else to help oversee everything...someone one who even our Mom would rather not have to deal with."

"And with good reason."

Melanie groaned as she turned towards the newcomer, knowing that voice and hating the source of it with a burning passion. "I would say it's nice to see you again, but I'd be lying."

"Believe me," one Caroline Cordovine declared. "The feeling is mutual."

At the same time, Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel were being led into their cell in the Federation's prison. Once they were alone, Emerald sadly sat down on one of the beds while her allies chose to either stand in the corner or try kicking the cell bars down. But before she could yell at Mercury to knock it off, she noticed a small box on the opposite end of their cell.

Curiously, she knelt down to examine the box before it opened up and bathed the trio in a tantalizing green light. The three criminals tried to shield their eyes, but it was no use; they could feel the light warping their minds, as if someone or something was clawing at their brains from the inside out.

"_Hello, kiddies…" _Loki's voice echoed from the box. _"You didn't think you could get rid of me _that _easy, did you? Well, I may be gone, but my work is _far _from finished. That's where _you three _come in. You will be my _legacy! _I programmed this box to use a variant of my own Trickster's Madness. Don't fight it… take deep breaths… let the madness sweep over you… and most of all, don't forget to put on a _great… big… SMILE!"

The guards ran towards the cell to investigate the disturbance just as the light died down. Needless to say, they were horrified at the sight of their three captives laughing hysterically, with glowing green eyes.

**To Be Continued**


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 49**

It had been a few days since Roman and Adam's deception had been revealed and tensions were at an all time high. Even knowing that the war that had been fought between Menagerie and the Federation had been orchestrated by two men wanting to see Menagerie destroyed in the resulting conflict, it was impossible to forget that the war had still happened. Case in point, one Leonardo Lionheart was currently patrolling the Capital grounds despite no longer needing to anymore...only to stop as he sensed someone approaching behind them.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." Lionheart warned while holding a gun over the edge of a nearby cliff, apparently looking for possible intruders. "I _am _prone to fainting."

"Sorry: I hadn't meant to sneak up on you like that," one Blake Belladonna declared with a light blush as she approached her fellow Faunus from around the corner. "I guess it's to be expected, though. I might not be a member of the White Fang anymore, but old habits die hard."

"Indeed," the Haven headmaster-turned-Federation General said with a sigh even as he put the gun away. "I understand that the war is over, but...well, no offence to your family, but I can't help but worry that the Faunus of Menagerie are going to stab me in the back."

"None taken, I suppose," Blake replied with a shrug. "And, at the risk of sounding biased, I know for a fact that my parents would never allow that to happen. I was there when he flat out refused to fight when everyone else was calling for violence. I was even one of those who called him a coward, much to my shame. Just...take it from someone who knows: don't shut them out just because they handle things differently, or you might end up regretting it for the rest of your life."

"I'll try," General Lionheart promised. "And for what it's worth, I'm sure that your parents have already forgiven you, so maybe it's time that you forgive yourself."

"It's worth a lot," Blake said with a light nod. "Though that actually reminds me: the reason I came out here is that my Dad wanted your input on what you think our next move should be."

Leonardo simply gave a sigh and a nod in reply, already knowing that this was going to be a long day. "I just hope that Torchwick and Taurus are just as frustrated about the current situation as _we _are."

"I! Am! So! Frustrated!" Adam screamed as he punched the wall.

"Will you _calm down?!" _Roman snapped. "Our recon squad confirmed that there's something on this island that can give Salem what she wants."

"Oh, _yeah." _Adam rolled his eyes. "'A key to the Temple of the Purge is _somewhere _on the island! And all _four _Maidens are here, now, too!' That doesn't exactly help a whole _lot, _when the enemy has their _own _key, and they are holed up in an impenetrable _capitol!"_

"_Enough!" _Salem's voice growled from the screen. The criminals snapped to attention as the sinister witch's gaze pierced their souls. "I am _disappointed _in you, gentlemen. _Very _disappointed. I have been _patient. _And it has been _months _since you started! I _want _my daughters, and I want that _temple _activated!" The formerly-immortal tyrant sighed and leaned back in her throne. "But perhaps the fault is _mine. _Perhaps you two need a bit more… _motivation."_

With a wave of her hand, Salem signaled for Barmak to fetch a special prize she had been saving for a while. Needless to say, Roman and Adam were both speechless at the sight of the familiar suit of armor. Neo cupped one hand over her mouth and held Roman's with her other one. "Is… is that…?"

"Cinder Fall's armor from Project Guardsman." Salem confirmed with a smug purr. "That _fool _Jacques Schnee may have engineered these suits so that only my _daughters _could operate the special capabilities, but the _technology _is still available. So, I have decided to give you two a little more _incentive. _You _know _what I need, and you know _where _to find it. So, whoever finds it _first _can have Agent Crimson's armor, in _addition _to the rewards I've already promised you. Are we _clear?"_

Adam chuckled. _"Transparently, _ma'am." The bull Faunus left to prepare a brigade of mercenaries, leaving Roman and Neo alone with Barmak and Salem.

"I give you my word; we _will not fail." _Roman promised.

"I should _hope not, _Mr. Torchwick… for _your _sake." With that, the former witch ended the call.

"I believe I can _help _you, Mr. Torchwick." Barmak spoke up as his companion tiredly reached for another cigar. "I've been reading through the photographs of the hieroglyphics your men brought in. And I believe I've learned where this _key _we need is being held."

Roman arched an eyebrow as he lit his cigar. "And _why _didn't you tell us this sooner?"

"Sometimes I like watching you humans _squirm." _The sinister doppelganger chuckled. "That's why I studied _up _on this armor's _late wearer _after I watched your reactions to exiting the temple."

"You slimy little…" Roman clenched his fist before taking a long puff to calm his nerves. "What do you _know _about the Meta?"

"She was a former agent of Project Guardsman." Barmak elaborated. "With both the Fall Maiden _and _the Summer Maiden fragment named _Priscilla, _she was a force to be reckoned with. But the Priscilla fragment proved to be more manipulative than she could handle, and ultimately led her to her greatest failure. After Ozpin destroyed himself along with his daughters, the Fall Maiden and Priscilla's demise left a _void _within Cinder's mind, leaving her nothing more than a broken woman with a crippling need to _regain _the power she had lost."

"And _before _Priscilla? What was she like then?"

"No less _manipulative _and _ambitious _than when she had Priscilla, though admittedly a bit more kind-hearted at the time, which might explain why she felt the need to promise Glynda Goodwich, aka Agent Purple, that she'd take care of Phoebe for her." Barmak smiled. "Although, I'm more interested in _you two. _You claimed that the temple forced you to relive your father's death. I'm curious, is _that _why you hate the idea of being a huntsman so much?"

"Cut the _psycho-mumbo-jumbo, _Doppelganger." Roman sneered as Neo gripped her parasol tighter.

"I am simply doing my job." Barmak reasoned.

Roman scoffed. "Your job is to-"

"Would you like to know what _Adam Taraus _is afraid of?"

Roman's eyes widened, slightly, as he turned to face Neo. When she nodded in agreement, the mob boss removed his cigar from his lips to speak, clearly. "Uh… we, uh-"

"Roman, Neo." Adam reentered the room, interrupting his allies. "We're ready to go."

Roman and Neo shared a glance before heading out. "Of course."

Once the deadly duo were gone, Adam approached Barmak. "By the way, I just wanted to let _you _know that Hazel Rainhart is currently _MIA."_

"That _is _unfortunate." Barmak nodded. "Especially since it was _I _who convinced him to come here and aid us in our mission."

"Yeah." Adam grinned, darkly. "Of course, if someone were to _find _Rainhart and lead him to _you _while you were disguised as _James Ironwood - _one of _Ozpin's _former pawns - I doubt things would go well for you." Adam savoured the nervous flinch Barmak gave before turning to leave. "Keep up the good work, Grimm-man."

Meanwhile, Yang, Raven, and Winter had just returned from a reconnaissance mission with a platoon of captured mercenaries. The blonde brawler couldn't help but gloat as they shoved their captives into the holding cells, dancing and singing while her mother chuckled at her amusing mockery.

"Duh-nuh, nuh, nuh, nuh. Another one bites the dust!" Yang sang.

"Uh!"

"Another one bites the dust!"

"Yeah!"

"And another one's gone! And another one's gone!"

"Get _down _with your bad self!"

"Another one bites the dust!" Yang finished her dance with two middle fingers pointed at the disgruntled mercenaries. "We! Kicked! Your! _Ass!"_

"Alright, alright." Winter chuckled. "We've already _beaten _them. No need for cruel and unusual torture."

Raven snorted. "Says _you_. My daughter's got some _serious skills!_ We deserve to celebrate!"

"We can't be too confident." Winter insisted. "We may have gotten a leg up right now, but-"

Penelope appeared on the Guardsman's shoulder. " Winter, please. We've been through a lot up until this point. It's okay to be happy once in a while. Loosen up! Have some fun with us!"

Winter sighed. "I guess it is a very satisfying win."

Raven nodded. "I agree. Very satisfying."

Yang chuckled. "And you get satisfaction from men-"

"You get satisfaction from men so infrequently!" Winter interrupted, only to see everyone staring at her, awkwardly. "What? That was the joke right?"

"What the fuck?" Yang blinked. "Did she just… steal my thing?"

Winter turned to Penny, indignantly. "You said to loosen up!"

"Uh, maybe tighten it back up a little." Penelope suggested, uncomfortably.

Meanwhile, Jean could be found sitting inside an interrogation room, as not a lot of people were ready to approach her after her episode in the cave...which is why she was a bit surprised to find someone who was _not_ one of her usual guards enter the room, only to relax a little when she recognized who it was.

"Hey Ruby," Jean called out with a bittersweet smile as the hooded huntress entered her cell. "Coming to check up on me, are we?"

"I am, but I also needed to know: is Paulette still in your head?" Ruby couldn't help but ask.

"I'm here, little Rose," the echo of the Maiden's Rage responded from Jean's mouth. "Don't think you'll be able to trip me up so easily this time."

"Actually, I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Paulette blinked upon hearing this. "Excuse me, what?"

"Back when we thought you and Penny were simply AIs, when I found out that Priscilla and Cinder had been absorbing Luna and her other sisters into themselves, it never occurred to me that you might've been one of her targets," Ruby declared, tearing up as she did. "Or, maybe it did, but you had hurt me and the others so badly that I had chosen not to care. I was your sister and I failed to act like one. Cinder came after you and I failed to protect you! I'm a horrible person!"

Jean simply pulled the sobbing Ruby into a hug, not even _needing_ Paulette to tell her to do so. "It's okay, Ruby. I don't blame you for what happened. There was a lot of stuff going on back then, and it's only natural that you might forget about some things here and there, and by the time you _did_ remember, you didn't exactly know how to deal with it. Besides, like you said back in the cave, I'm not entirely blameless."

"Maybe not," Ruby said with a sniffle, breaking the embrace and whipping the tears from her eyes as she did, "but that doesn't mean that I don't have some things to make up for. Besides, the way I see it, if Paulette is in your head, then that just makes this a second chance for _all_ of us."

"I appreciate that Ruby," Jean called out, before frowning. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm still not getting out of this room anytime soon?"

"Don't get the wrong idea: we _do_ want you around, but with how you attacked my sister not so long ago, the higher ups want to make sure that you're still okay for duty," Ruby declared before heading for the exit. "For what it's worth, though, it was wrong of me to say that you haven't contributed _anything_ to us. After all, if it weren't for you, we might have had more than a few problems when Holly was being born."

"Thanks. That...that means a lot." Jean said with a smile.

Ruby simply returned the smile before nodding to someone just outside the door. "She's all yours."

Octavia took a deep breath before entering the interrogation room. She put on her best smile and sat down in front of the handcuffed medical student. "So, Ms… _Paulette, _was it?" She began. "When you say that you want to _'destroy all humans,' _what do you _mean _by that?"

"It means that I shall _tear _this world asunder!" the shadow of the Maiden's Rage declared, having quickly reasserted control of the medic. "I have been _cast out _by the world, so I shall _burn it all _to keep myself warm!"

"Interesting." Octavia grinned. "I've come across a few individuals who suffered from multiple personality disorder in the past, but none of them were this _vocal. _Perhaps it has something to do with the Summer Maiden. Do you have any _memories _of the Summer Maiden?"

"Who cares?!" Paulette bellowed as she broke free from her restraints. "All I remember is this _UNYIELDING RAGE!"_

"Fascinating!" Octavia reached into her bag and pulled out a hand-held defibrillator. "This is gonna take some _serious _electro-shock therapy to exorcise the malevolent personality!"

"Wait, what?" Paulette blinked, and suddenly shifted control back to Jean. "Uh, I think I need a second opinion!"

"We've got a _runner!"_

Meanwhile, Team RWBY and company had been discussing the recent arrivals from Atlas, with one name in particular drawing the attention of a certain former Guardsman. "Caroline Cordovin is here?!" Qrow's eyebrows arched in surprise.

"You _know _her?" Ruby asked.

"Not _personally, _but _Agent Silver _ran into her more than a few times." He explained. "Something about her being Project Guardsman's official liaison with the Atlas government. Pretty sure she'll recognize me and Winter, though."

"Well, _that's _good!" Ruby smiled. "Now we have another friend to help us in the war!"

Qrow winced. "Eh, I wouldn't say they were _'friends,' _Rubes. They were more like… ah, what's the word?"

"Allies?" Ruby suggested.

"No, not _that."_

"Associates?" Weiss offered.

"Nope."

"Companions?" Yang tried.

"Nah."

"Coworkers?" Blake shrugged.

"Closer."

"_Enemies?" _Weiss said, at last.

Qrow snapped his fingers. _"That's _it!"

"Wait, what?!"

Qrow simply rolled his eyes. "Maria never was one to adhere to authority in life. She ended up bringing outside cashews on a flight into Atlas territory and ended up being placed on the additional screening list for the rest of her life."

"Sounds like something _you_ would do, Ruby." Weiss declared with a hollow chuckle, understanding more than ever that she and her sister ended up having a similar taste in women.

"Weiss, don't be silly," Ruby called out. "We _both_ know that I wouldn't be caught with _cashews._ Now if it had been _cookies_ or _strawberries, that_ would have been a different story."

"Ruby Rose, Grimm Reaper," Yang drawled out. "Have to admit: that sounds kind of badass."

"...and if she's anything like the original version, just as much of a headache to me on a personal level," Commander Cordovin called out as she approached the group, glaring at Qrow as she does. "Agent Grey."

"Cordovin." the former Guardsman called back before noticing that Winter was approaching and hiding a smile.

"Hey, Qrow, I was going through some of that data we collected and…" ...and that was as far as she got before she noticed Caroline Cordovin standing before her, letting out a growl as she did. "You…"

Needless to say, no one was prepared for when she punched the Atlas commander in the face. "Why'd you do that?" Qrow couldn't help but ask despite finding the whole thing a bit humorous.

"Because Maria isn't here to do it herself." Winter readily called out.

"Okay, _you _need to cool off." Qrow decided.

"I have an idea." Svetlana offered. "I'm taking a platoon to bring Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel to the capitol's prison. It wouldn't _hurt _to have a Guardsman on our side. Especially since we risk going through _enemy territory."_

"That… sounds like a good idea." Winter agreed.

"Alright, but if _you're _going, _I'm _going with you." Mikhail insisted. "Your inability to avoid conflict is eclipsed only by your inability to keep your _blood _inside of you."

Svetlana rolled her eyes even as Winter left to prep the Warthog. "You think you know _everything _about me, don't you?"

Mikhail simply scoffed before going to assist Winter. "I took your _virginity, _I damn well _ought to!"_

"Ah, _young love." _Qrow remarked, sarcastically, as they watched the Rushland couple separate to prepare for their upcoming mission.

"Just as well that she left." Cordovin called out as she rubbed her jaw. "If she had stayed, I'd have had her court marshalled."

"With all due respect, she and Maria were close, and it sounds like the two of you had some history." Ruby felt the need to call out.

"That's an understatement." the Commander said with a dignified snort. "But it doesn't matter: her behavior just makes my decision to demote each and every one of you that much easier."

"You can't do that!" Yang cried out, before turning to Weiss with a blink. "She can't do that, right?"

"Even if she could, it'd be highly ill-advised," the Schnee heiress declared. "She just arrived and as such not too many people would _actually_ follow her orders."

"Not to mention that unlike her, we have actual experience with our mutual enemy." Blake felt the need to point out.

Despite all of the legitimate reasons for possibly needing to step back a ways, the Atlas Commander wasn't having any of it. "You don't get it, do you?" Commander Cordovin growled out. "You might have been in charge for a while, but Atlas put _me_ in command, and there isn't anyone here who can say otherwise."

"I don't know: I find Ruby Rose and her friends to be much more pleasant company."

"Aw, we love you too, Lori," Ruby remarked with a smile, only to freeze as she realized what she had just said. "Wait, Lori!? We were told that Jacques deleted you!"

"Actually, Jacques simply asked me to delete _myself,"_ Gloria/Lori corrected from one of the base's computers, having hitched a ride on one of Atlas' ships. "But I remembered how you had said that you had wanted to hang out again at some point, so I did something that Agent Summer and Penny were always fond of doing: I disobeyed him."

"You...disobeyed a direct order from President Schnee?!" Ghira - having arrived to check up on the team - couldn't help but ask, before she looked to Ruby with a smile. "I can see why my daughter holds you in such high regard, Ruby Rose."

Ruby merely gave a sheepish blush in reply. "It's no big deal."

"I disagree, Miss Rose."

"Doctor Oobleck?" Svetlana - who had yet to leave at that point - asked in shock, having recognized that voice. "Not that I'm not glad that you're here, but why _are_ you here?"

"Simple, Miss Red," Doctor Oobleck said with a nod even as he approached the group. "I heard that some students of mine could use some assistance and decided that I'd give them whatever help that I could."

"I'm sure I speak for the others when I say that I appreciate it," "Rachael" declared with a blush before showing the instructor her ring, "though for the record, it's actually Mrs. Kashtonovyy."

"Congratulations." the Beacon Doctor said with a smile. However, his smile faded as he finally noticed the multiple bandages and stitches covering the young woman's body. "My dear, what _happened _to you?"

"Uh…" Svetlana wasn't sure how her beloved instructor would react if he learned what she and her husband had been through. "My husband Mikhail and I were… rock climbing."

"... _rock climbing?" _Oobleck's eyebrow arched over his large glasses.

Svetlana could only sigh in reply, knowing that the man wasn't fooled. "All I can tell you right now is that an old foe came knocking and I wasn't able to sit by and do nothing."

"Commendable," Doctor Oobleck remarked with a light smile. "Though I do hope this new spouse of yours is watching over you. There's a reason that we put our students in teams, after all."

"I understand, and don't worry: he's been taking good care of me." The Crimson Crusader promised the Beacon Doctor.

"As frustrating as it can be at times," Mikhail remarked as he entered the room, holding out a hand to the older man. "Mikhail Kashtonovyy. My wife and her friends have told me a lot about you, Doctor."

"Good things, I hope," Bartholomew Oobleck said with a smile, accepting the handshake as he did.

"Most definitely," the Rushland native reassured the man even as he returned the smile.

"Well, now that we have _introductions _out of the way, Miss Cordovin has ordered me to accompany you." The green-haired professor replied. "Shall we go?"

"You're working for Cordovin?" Svetlana couldn't help but ask.

"Not quite by _choice." _Oobleck sighed. "After the fall of Beacon, many of the teachers were put under _investigation. _My employment under Commander Cordovin is part of my _probation."_

"Fair enough," Mikhail called out. "Let's get going then."

Meanwhile, Winter had gone ahead of the platoon to scope out any enemy resistance, with Penelope tagging along to offer support if necessary.

"The objective you seek should be a few miles East of our current location." Penelope's memory of Phoebe called out.

"I'd advise that you exercise caution, though." the memory of Patricia remarked. "I sense that Adam and Roman's forces might be nearby."

Winter chuckled, the banter reminding her of better times. "I know you're not them, not really, but it really is good to see you two again." Winter couldn't help but admit.

"Aw, we missed you too, Winter," Polly declared with a smile, with Patricia likewise giving off a small grin to showcase that she indeed was happy to see her old partner again.

Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past Winter's cheek. The former Agent White drew her sword and narrowly deflected every other blast headed her way. "I could use a _hand _here, Penelope!"

"I'm on it!" Penelope nodded, ordering her sisters about. "Pamela! Get the shields up!"

"Of course." The monotone voice replied. "Though for the record, _please_ call me Luna in the future."

Winter's aura was enhanced by the Maiden fragment's efforts, giving her the courage to charge her enemies. She sliced through their weapons at a tremendous pace, but she knew it wouldn't last for long. Luckily, Svetlana's platoon had just arrived on the scene and gave her a chance to catch her breath. "Penny! I need armor enhancements!"

"Which ones?"

"_All _of them!"

"Uh, that doesn't sound like a good ideaaaah!" Penelope yelled out as Winter suddenly charged forward towards their opposition, being riddled by bullets being launched rapidfire by multiple opponents.

"Forget it, Agent White," one of the mercenaries called out. "Not even you can take us on all alone."

"Who said she was alone?" Svetlana declared before striking down multiple goons at once before making a hasty retreat to attempt to aid Winter from a distance as the mercenaries all started shooting at her. "Note to self: remember that stealth ambushes work better when you are actually being stealthy."

Meanwhile, time had frozen for Penelope as she tried to use her memories of her sisters to multitask maintaining Winter's armor. "Okay, Pearl, you focus on the _healing unit!"_

"Understood!" Pearl replied.

"Phoebe, get that next dust cartridge ready for reload!"

"I'm _trying!" _The younger memory stammered.

"Pearl, how's her aura-? Pearl?" Penelope stared in disbelief as Pearl's astral form flickered until fading away. Suddenly, it dawned on her; she was only a fraction of the Summer Maiden, and as such, she wasn't capable of pushing her abilities so far. In a few moments, she would be too weak to be of any use to Winter.

"It's _too much!" _Phoebe cried as she, too, began to fade away. "Penelope, what do we do?!"

Penelope could only sigh as she felt her own consciousness slipping. "... I don't _know."_

Winter yelped in surprise as she stumbled backwards, falling off of the cliff away from her enemies and allies alike. Svetlana felt the fire dust burn as she narrowly dodged a bullet before taking out one of the mercenaries with her own weapon. Unfortunately, in doing so, she had dropped her scroll just as she was talking to Mikhail.

"Svetlana? Hello? _Hello?!" _His voice rang from the device before a stray bullet shattered it.

Realizing that something had gone wrong, Mikhail grabbed the Warthog and headed towards the last known location of Winter, Penelope, and his wife. "You better not be dead, Svets, because if you are, I'll kill you."

Unfortunately, he quickly learned that driving these vehicles was not as easy as his friends had made it out to be. "AAAAH! Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Mikhail shouted, struggling to control the vehicle even as he plowed through various mercenaries with multiple Menagerie and Federation troopers just _barely_ getting out of the way in time. "Why're there so many damn _pedals _on this thing?!"

As for Svetlana, she soon found herself face-to-face with a small squad of mercenaries with specialized weapons. "I've heard of _you." _The leader smirked, loading lightning dust into his gauntlets. "Torchwick put a _special _price on your head! I'mma _kill _you! Then, I'mma _jumpstart your heart… _and _kill you again!"_

Svetlana rolled her eyes. "Just another _dog. _All bark, no _bite."_

"Oh, I _bite, _bitch! I _bite-!" _As he lunged forward, the Rushland huntress delivered a firm spin-kick to his face, knocking him unconscious. The others took a step back in shock as Svetlana cracked her knuckles.

"Who wants to tell me where _Torchwick _is?" She asked. With her weapons in hand, she had little trouble keeping the remaining mercenaries at bay. Unfortunately, their weapons were far more advanced than an augmented hammer and sickle. She kicked one mercenary with a chainsaw-type weapon away from her, unaware that he instead turned his attention to a thick tree. Svetlana didn't notice the trunk falling until it was too late.

The mercenary with the lightning gauntlets - having since woken up - chortled as he rubbed the still-tender flesh. "You stupid _bitch. _You thought you could come into _my _neck of the woods?! Well, now you're gonna help pay for my _retirement _when I bring Torchwick your - wait… the hell is that _music?"_

The mercenaries turned to see a Warthog racing towards them at top speed and opened fire, immediately. One of them managed to blow out one of the front wheel tires, sending it out of control. Mikhail cursed with every impact he felt. "YOU'VE! GOT! TO! BE! SHIT! TING! ME!"

In one fluid motion, Mikhail unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped from the car before it crashed. He then proceeded to grab onto a nearby tree branch, swing up into the air, and land both feet on two of the three mercenaries who had shot at him. "How the _hell _did you do that?!" The final mercenary gasped before receiving a strong uppercut to the jaw.

"_Fuck you, _that's how." Mikhail retorted, massaging his bruised knuckles. Just then, he spotted his wife and rushed over to her side. "Svetlana! _Svetlana!"_

"M-Mikhail…?" The Crimson Crusader gasped.

Mikhail immediately gripped the tree trunk and strained to lift it. "Gah! What's the point of doing all those push-ups if you can't even lift a _freaking log?!"_

With his help, Svetlana managed to get out from under the tree trunk and back on her feet. Once they were certain that the platoon was safe, the couple collapsed against the fallen tree, breathing heavily. "You know… it's not _easy _being married to you…" Mikhail declared, jokingly.

"Yeah…" Svetlana cupped his cheeks and brought him in for a kiss. "You do a _good job."_

Just then, Mikhail's scroll went off. "This is Penelope Polendina requesting that a medical station be put on standby for our return," The Maiden's memory declared. "Also, tell Velvet to get her toolkit ready: I needed to temporarily transfer my consciousness into one of the enemy drones and since she knows my quote-unquote 'programing' better than most, she'll be the best equipped to make sure that there aren't any issues that I'll have to deal with later."

"Wait, what?!" Weiss' voice called out from back at base. "What happened to you and _Winter?"_

"Don't worry, I'll get her back to the capitol." Penelope sighed, hanging up the scroll and was now resting on the unconscious Guardsman's stomach. "She is going to be _so angry _when she wakes up…"

"Sounds like we're not the only ones having a bad day." Mikhail remarked as she approached the android with Svetlana in tow. "I'm guessing that Winter pushed herself too far."

"Seems to be a habit that runs in the group." Penelope jokingly called back.

Back at the capitol, Ghira and Leonardo were in the middle of another heated argument.

"What is it _this _time?" Weiss sighed.

"Apparently, Ghira never agreed to send a squad to transfer Emerald and the others." Blake explained. "If they keep going _back and forth _like this, we'll _never _have a chance at beating Salem."

"Well, we're just gonna have to convince them to get along." Ruby decided. "Blake? Maybe you could talk with them?"

"That won't do any good." Blake rubbed her forehead, tiredly. "Leonardo won't think I'm a good peacemaker because I'm Ghira's daughter, and _Dad _won't trust me because he thinks Leonardo filled my head with Federation propaganda."

"So we need to find someone with an unbiased view of both sides to act as a sort of mediator." Raven surmised, rubbing her chin.

"HELP! SOMEONE GET THIS CRAZY GIRL AWAY FROM ME!" Jean cried as she ran past the group.

Dr. Ember was following closely behind. "Running only makes me want you _more!"_

"If only we _knew_ someone who hasn't met either of the generals yet. Someone like…" Raven declared, before trailing off, realizing the perfect solution. "...I'm probably going to regret this later."

"So let me get this _straight…" _Jean huffed after the situation was explained to her a few minutes later. "You guys think you can send me to an alternate dimension, forget my _very existence, _and then expect me to help you when you _ask?!"_

"... _yes." _Raven replied, bluntly.

"FINALLY!" Jean happily wiped a stray tear from her eye. "All I ever wanted was to be _included!"_

"MWAHAHAHAHA!" Paulette laughed. "You pitiful fool! This is why nobody respects you!"

"Oh, come on, Paulette! This is our chance to finally make a difference! Don't be such a _Negative Nancy!"_

"If you had a dog, it would chew through its leash and run straight into traffic!"

"Hey, _I _had a dog that did that, once." Jaune remarked.

Ren rolled his eyes. "Surprising _no one."_

"Hey, what's _that_ supposed to mean?" the leader of Team JNPR couldn't help but ask.

A few minutes later, Ghira Belladonna and Leonardo Lionheart found themselves sitting on a couch while Jean sat opposite of them. "Okay, now! How about we start this session with a _friendly handshake?" _The two generals shared a glance before turning away from each other. Jean chose to ignore the awkward silence and carry on. "Oookay, we can come back to that _later. _How about we dive _right into this _with a healthy _role-play _exercise?"

"Oh! I call sexy C.E.O.!" Coco raised her hand, eagerly.

"I call sexy secretary!" Velvet chimed in.

"And I call hunky janitor who walks in!" Yatsuhashi added.

"... _what?" _Fox blinked as he looked towards his teammates.

"Uh, _Jean, _was it?" Ghira asked, politely. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I think there are some more _important _things to worry about right now."

"Oh, come now, Mr. Belladonna! Don't knock it 'til you've _tried _it! This is the perfect exercise to get an understanding of how you _perceive _each other." To prove her point, Jean grabbed Jaune by the arm and pulled him closer. "Here; Jaune and I will give a brief demonstration. I'll pretend to be _him._ And he'll pretend to be _me."_

"Uh… _'hey, _everybody. Look at me. I'm Jean.'" Jaune shrugged.

Paulette took over Jean's mind once more; a sinister smile spreading over her lips. "'And _I'm _Jaune Arc, reporting for duty! _Oh, wait! _I forgot! I'm a worthless pile of human excrement who wouldn't be caught _dead _doing anything _meaningful _with my life because I'm too busy wishing that my parents loved _me _as much as they love my _sisters! _Maybe if I was given just a _handful _of affection from my mother, I wouldn't be so oblivious to Pyrrha's obvious attraction to me! But I guess that's just what happens when she's more focused on you taking up your dead grandfather's sword, and puts so much pressure on you that you actually _fake your transcripts _to get into the most dangerous school in the world!' MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Here, Jaune! Take the _shield, _too!"

Everyone turned to glance at Jaune just as his lips began to quiver. "It was just such a _cool sword." _He whimpered.

"Ooooh, _geez." _Jean winced. "I am _so _sorry. Uh, maybe we should try something _else."_

Meanwhile, one Caroline Cordovin was dealing with her own situation. "Get those riffles to the southern bunker on the double." she called out to a particular set of twins.

"We'll get them there when we have the time," Militia said with a roll of her eyes.

"I saw that," the Commander declared with a frown. "The Council might have been convinced to give you and your sister a second chance, but one scroll conversation is all I'd need to change their mind."

"Will it?" Melenie said with a smug smile. "I get the impression that the reason that the Council chose you to come here was so that they wouldn't have to deal with you themselves."

"You just earned yourself 50 more laps around the base." Commander Cordovin growled out.

"Worth it," the twins declared with a grin as the two of them ran outside.

"Take my advice," Qrow called out as he approached the older woman with his sister in tow. "Find a punishment _besides_ running laps: it's not as effective as you think it is."

The older woman just gave a frustrated sigh in reply. "I don't know how you two deal with these idiots," Cordovin admitted. "I'm just about ready to send some of them all to the front line without any backup."

Raven, having noticed that her gaze briefly turned towards Yang and Ruby, simply growled in reply. "If you even _think_ about hurting them…"

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm with her: you need to stop before you say or do something you regret." Qrow said with a glare.

"Okay, perhaps that was a _bit_ harsh," she declared with a sigh, "but honestly, I just _can't_ get them to listen to me: it's like they're incapable of following orders at all!"

As if to prove her wrong, Yang ran up to them to give them a progress report like she'd been instructed to. "Hey, Mom: we've started decoding those files like you and Uncle Qrow requested, but some of Adam's soldiers that we managed to capture are causing a ruckus again. Winter, Velvet, and some of the other eggheads have the technical stuff down pat, but a few of us, myself included, having been itching for some action for a while now and those aforementioned captured soldiers just happen to have a set of _very_ punch-able faces: permission to show them Branwen battle technique number 22?"

"Permission denied." Raven called out before giving her daughter a teasing grin. "As appropriate as it might be, we don't have the chickens. Hey, Qrow: how do we look for number 47?"

"You _really_ think that you can just...?" Qrow started to growl out, before pausing and really thinking about the situation with a light hum. "Well, we'd have enough people for it, but I was thinking something more along the lines of number 38: we _are_ in an enclosed space after all."

"Right, thanks for the suggestions," Yang said with a smile. "I'll report back later."

"How… _how_ did you get results like that?!" Cordovin called out in shock even as she watched Yang run off.

Raven shrugged. "As strained as my relationship with my brother is, and how I'm _still_ working some things out with Yang, Ruby, and the others, I know that leadership is all about give and take: you like to do a _lot_ of taking, but you're not too fond of the 'giving' part."

Qrow merely chuckled in reply. "Again, can't believe I'm saying this, but she's right: if you start believing in _them,_ maybe they'll start believing in _you."_

"Excuse me, vehicle coming through."

"_Please_ tell me that wasn't Ilia…" Qrow called out, only to cringe as the sound of a crash resonated throughout the area.

"How?! How is that even possible?!" Jaune couldn't help but yell out as he looked upon the wreckage. "You were going like five miles per hour!"

"I'm sorry: just bad luck, I guess…" Ilia said with a wince as she climbed out of said wreckage.

Needless to say, Cordovin couldn't help but give the Branwen siblings a deadpan expression in reply. "Forgive me if I struggle in that regard…"

Qrow simply sighed as he watched the Commander walk off in a huff. "Worst part is, I lost my semblance back when Oz cast his spell so I can't even blame it for this." It said a lot about his emotional state that he didn't even comment when Raven gave him a comforting pat on the back.

Back with the generals, Jean continued her attempts to get through to them with therapy. This time, Weiss and Ruby were the ones to demonstrate the exercise with a speaking ball. "Weiss…" Ruby cleared her throat, trying to find the right words. "When you call me things like _'dolt,' _and _'childish,' _it makes me feel _sad."_

"Good! Good!" Jean clapped, handing the speaking ball to the former heiress. "Now, Weiss. _Your _turn."

"Ruby." Weiss glared in slight annoyance. "When _you _volunteered _us _to practice talking about our feelings, it made _me _feel like slapping _you _upside the gods-damned _head."_

"Oh, well, now I feel _sadder." _Ruby remarked before turning to Jean. "Are we doing this right?"

"Right as _rain, _Rubes!"

"Oh, _good!" _Ruby smiled. "I _love _therapy!"

"Ha ha, don't we _all?" _Jean agreed as she handed the ball to Ghira. "Now, let's see what _you two _have to say!"

"Um, Ms. Purple, I don't believe-"

"Ah-ah!" Jean cut the lion faunus off with a wave of her finger. "Chieftain _Belladonna _has the speaking ball."

Ghira sighed. "Uh, Jean, this _isn't _going to work."

"Well, not with _that _attitude."

"Attitude is not the problem." Ghira corrected. "It's a complete _lack _of cooperation."

"Well, cooperation goes _both ways, _Chieftain Belladonna." Lionheart retorted.

"Then why do _you _still treat us like enemies?!"

"Uh, okay, lets-"

"We wouldn't if you'd stop _provoking _the enemy to attack us!"

"Well, we can't just _sit _here!"

"Guys? Can we-?"

"I have the speaking ball!" Ghira snarled.

"Uh…" The group turned to see Winter, Qrow, Penelope, and Kali standing in the doorway. "The… _speaking ball?" _Kali asked.

"Yes." Ghira shoved the ball into the lion Faunus' hands. "And you know what? I'm _done _talking. It's time for _action."_

"Wait! Guys, _please!" _Jean jumped in front of Ghira before he could leave. "Look, can't you two at least… say _one _nice thing about the other person? _Something? Anything?!"_

Ghira sighed before turning back towards his former enemy. "I always imagined you as a _tyrant." _He began with his arms crossed. "A _madman _hellbent on conquering those who didn't agree with his way of thinking. But now I know the _truth; _you're just a _stubborn, arrogant, pathetic coward! _And I honestly don't know which is _worse."_

"Oooh… that's a _burn." _Fox winced.

Lionheart squeezed the ball in his hand, baring his fangs as a low growl escaped his throat. "You want to know what _your _problem is, Ghira?! You're far too eager to _die _for what you believe in! When you felt humans mistreated Faunus, you joined the _White Fang! _When your leaders fell before you, you took their _place! _When you felt Menagerie's government had failed you, you started a _rebellion! _And _now, _when we find ourselves at our _most vulnerable, _you want to _fight! _Well, I can honestly say…!" Leonardo's expression softened, as did his grip on the ball. "That… I've never met a more _courageous _person… in _all _my life."

"What?" Ghira blinked.

"What?" Kali arched an eyebrow.

"What?" Jean shook her head before smiling. "I mean, _good! _That's _good! _Keep _going!"_

Leonardo looked down at his hands in shame. "I wish… I _wish _that I had a _fraction _of the courage _you _possess. If I did, then perhaps I'd have made a better leader. But I'm _not. _And I'm _scared. _Not just for _myself, _mind you, but also for my _people."_

"That's something we have in common." Ghira said with a bitter chuckle. "I was afraid for what would happen to my fellow Faunus - of what would happen to my _family_ \- if I didn't take action...and Adam Taurus took advantage of that fear. I _knew_ he was a snake, and yet I _still_ let him bite me, thinking I could use him the way he used me. At least with Roman Torchwick, you genuinely didn't know he was manipulating you."

"Actually, I think I did," Leonardo bitterly admitted. "I just choose to ignore it because I thought I could get some information out of him about our enemy's plans and/or that I could bring him around to a better way of thinking."

"Only for Roman to take advantage of your caring nature," Ghira remarked with a disgruntled sigh. "It seems we've _both_ been fools who were trying to use the darkness that lay at our feet against our enemies, only for that darkness to infect us. We should've _known_ that such a tactic would never truly have worked against the likes of Taurus and Torchwick."

"Indeed," the headmaster of Haven Academy declared. "So, what happens now? We can't just pretend that all this fighting never happened."

"Something that we _should_ have been doing from the beginning," Ghira said with a serious expression as he took a gun out of his pocket...only to empty it of ammo and place it on the ground. "Opening the door to peace."

Leo nodded before doing the same with his own gun and holding out a hand. "Agreed," he declared as the two Faunus shook hands, solidifying their agreement.

Jean couldn't help but whip a tear of joy from her eye. "I love happy endings."

"Except that this isn't an 'ending' quite yet," Winter felt the need to point out. "We still have Taurus, Torchwick, and Barmak to deal with."

"I know _that,"_ Jean declared with a shrug. "But at least now things can't get any...NOPE! Nope, nope, nope! Not finishing that! Not finishing that sentence! I don't want Ruby berating me for using that trigger phrase!"

"She _does_ like to do that a lot," Penelope said with a light chuckle.

Suddenly, the entire facility shook as a muffled explosion echoed from outside. "The _fuck _was that?!" Yang exclaimed.

"General Lionheart!" A voice shouted from the radio. "Enemy troops are attacking the capitol!"

"What?!" Ghira gasped.

"That's _impossible!" _Leonardo declared. "They'd _never _risk a bombing run!"

"They… they _aren't." _The messenger replied as he watched the mercenary forces parachute from their airships into the capitol's streets.

Meanwhile, back at the former rebellion stronghold, Mikhail angrily followed his wife into the Belladonna's house. "If you want me to provide _surveillance, _you have to _communicate _with me! And _look! _Your stitches have _opened!"_

"I know, _I know!" _Svetlana grumbled as she sat down. "I lost my _scroll, _alright?! The important thing is that we saved the platoon!"

"We got _lucky!" _Mikhail sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, all I'm saying is that if we want to _continue _this, we can't just rely on _skill _and _determination._ We're going to need better equipment."

The argument was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door. The couple shared a confused glance before Svetlana answered it. To her surprise, a familiar green-haired doctor had arrived with a silver briefcase in hand. "Good evening, Mrs. Kashtonovvy."

"Dr. Oobleck." Svetlana greeted. "What brings you here?"

"Well, I couldn't help but think about what you told me earlier…" He began as he set the briefcase down on the kitchen table. "So, I thought you'd be interested in _this."_

Svetlana and Mikhail's eyes were locked onto the case's contents immediately after it was opened. Inside was a specialized outfit, complete with boots, gloves, and a protective helmet. "It was a little _pet project _I was working on while I was still employed at _Beacon." _He explained, proudly. "The fabric is a unique lightweight material designed to _enhance _your aura, making it _nigh-indestructible. _The helmet is fitted with protective lenses that will _not only _enhance your Huntress' Eyes, but also includes the latest in DNA-scanning technology, giving you all the tools needed to evaluate crime scenes. And the boots and gloves are equipped with one-inch retractable claws capable of climbing _any _terrain. You know, for… _'rock climbing.'"_

"Dr. Oobleck…" Svetlana smiled in astonishment. "I-I don't know what to _say."_

"And to help ease your husband's worries, I also designed _these." _The doctor reached into his trench coat's pocket and presented the couple with two smaller devices. "These are _two-way communication _devices that fit directly in your ears. Now, you can keep both of your hands free, but still _communicate _with each other whilst you are… _climbing rock. _I'd just _hate _to see you get hurt again, Mrs. Kashtonovvy. Any _comments, questions, or concerns?"_

Svetlana shared a warm smile with Mikhail. "Does it come in _red?"_

Oobleck smirked. "I'll see what I can do."

"You know, sir…" Mikhail began. "If you _are _dissatisfied with your employment under Cordovin, my wife and I could _use _a man of your talents in rebuilding Rushland."

"We'd happily pay you a fair wage, Doctor." Svetlana agreed.

Oobleck smiled. "I just might take you up on that offer, Mrs. and Mr. Kashtonovvy."

Suddenly, the house trembled as the trio heard an explosion from the distance. But before they could investigate, a truck full of mercenaries came speeding down the road. Svetlana managed to push Mikhail and Oobleck out of the way just in time before the truck crashed into the house.

One of the attackers took out a whip and targeted Svetlana, but Mikhail managed to gun him down just in time, using his last round. Acting quickly, he rolled towards the whip and used it to trip up another mercenary while inadvertently pressing a button on the hilt. The whip sent a sudden jolt of electricity as it wrapped around the target's arm, causing him to open fire on a nearby water tower that soaked him, killing him, instantly.

Mikhail was most impressed. "... oh, I'm _keeping _this." He told himself.

As for Svetlana, she had gone ahead and slipped on the prototype, easily making good use of her enhanced aura. Her sickle - now in its grappling hook configuration - ensnared her enemies and pulled them closer to her as she knocked them unconscious with her hammer. All the while, the suit allowed her to shrug off their firepower with ease.

After the dust settled, the group had only one man left to question; the leader of the mercenaries. "We can do this the _easy _way…" Svetlana scraped her sickle against her hammer as Mikhail cracked his whip and Oobleck readied his flame-thrower. "Or the _hard _way. Who _sent _you?"

"An old friend…" The mercenary replied, coughing into his fist as if to stifle a laugh. "One who just needed us to keep you _distracted _for a few minutes."

"Wait, you _wanted_ us to take out all of your men?!" Mikhail couldn't help but ask.

The leader of the insurgents simply gave an unsettling laugh in reply. "You might think you've won, but trust me, the chaos has only just begun." the intruder declared with an insane grin before shooting himself in the head to ensure they wouldn't get anymore information out of him.

"I...I don't understand." Oobleck couldn't help but call out.

"_I_ do," Svetlana declared with a growl even as she took in the carnage and found it disturbingly familiar. "My mother thought that our troubles would be over after she had killed Loki, but one thing I've learned while dealing with him? He _always_ has a backup plan. My guess is that this whole thing was just a distraction."

"A distraction from _what,_ exactly?" General Lionheart couldn't help but ask, having apparently stumbled upon the group while dealing with some of the other insurgents with some of his men.

"Has anyone checked up on Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel lately?" The Crimson Crusader felt the need.

"Who are _they?" _Oobleck asked.

"In short, a _mistress of fear, _a _two-faced crook, _and a _bane _to all that is _holy." _Mikhail replied as the group quickly headed towards the Federation's holding cells.

Sure enough, when they got there, they found that the three prisoners were long gone, and in their place was a message - written in blood - that simply read "Be seeing you soon, Svetsy."

**To Be Continued**


End file.
